Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key players in the conflict, appear to have played a role in Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s decision, quickly welcoming him in with a pledge of $ 3 billion (£ 2.3 billion) in aid. The head of the new council has close ties with Riyadh. Whether the change will hasten the end of the tough war remains to be seen, as UN-sponsored negotiations have stalled and fighting, airstrikes and rocket attacks continued until the end of last month. The Houthis did not immediately comment on Hadi’s announcement. Hady said the newly formed council would head the internationally recognized government and lead negotiations with the Iranian-backed Houthis, according to a statement broadcast by state media. The move is intended to unite the anti-Houthi camp after years of civil war and strife, and was almost certainly orchestrated in Riyadh, where Yemeni groups met last week to discuss efforts to end the war. “With this statement, a presidential leadership council will be set up to complete the implementation of the tasks of the transitional period. “I am irrevocably handing over my full powers to the presidential leadership council,” Khandi told Yemeni state television. Hadi also ousted Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful military figure, and handed Ahmar’s powers over to the presidency. The presidential council is chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, Hadi’s adviser and former interior minister in the government of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Alimi enjoys close ties with Saudi Arabia and other political groups within Yemen, including the powerful Islah party – the transnational branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen. The council has seven members, including Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, head of the separatist Southern Transitional Council – an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-funded UAE-backed militias since 2015. Sheikh Sultan al-Arada, the powerful governor of the energy-rich province of Marib, was also named a member of the council. So was Tariq Saleh, the militia leader and nephew of the late president who has close ties to the UAE. Hady was appointed president of Yemen in 2012 with the task of overseeing a democratic transition following the Arab Spring uprising that ended Saleh’s long rule. However, the Houthis, a religious movement that turned into a rebel militia, allied with Saleh and captured the capital Sanaa in 2014, forcing Khadi and his government into exile in Saudi Arabia. Months later, Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition and went to war to try to bring the Hadji government back to power. The conflict has in recent years turned into a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including more than 14,500 civilians. It has also created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Welcoming Hadi’s move, Saudi Arabia urged the presidency to start UN-led talks with the Houthis to find a “political, final and comprehensive” solution to the conflict, according to Saudi state news agency. Saudi Arabia’s powerful successor, Mohammed bin Salman, has also met with the head of the council and his members, according to Saudi state television. The warring parties announced a two-month ceasefire earlier this month, the first national ceasefire in Yemen in six years. Hady’s announcement came as talks on Yemen convened by the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council entered their final day on Thursday. The Houthis are boycotting the efforts facilitated by the GCC because they are taking place in Saudi Arabia, their opponent’s territory.
