FM Shaya Mohsen Zindani named as new PM, as Saudi Arabia moves to consolidate control over Yemen’s presidential body.Yemen’s Saudi-backed presidential leadership council has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin al-Zindani as the country’s new prime minister, the state news agency Saba has reported.Bin Breik formally submitted the resignation, which was approved by the council, before Zindani was named to form the next cabinet, Saba said on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listYemen has been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.The main southern Yemeni separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council – which Saudi Arabia says is backed by the UAE – gained control of areas across southern and eastern Yemen in December, advancing to within reach of the Saudi border, which the kingdom considered a threat to its national security.Saudi-backed fighters have since largely retaken those areas.Sharp differences over a range of other issues, from geopolitics to oil output, have also been a cause of friction between the two Gulf powers.Saudi Arabia and the UAE had previously worked together in a coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, which led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.Meanwhile, Yemen’s eight-seat presidential body on Thursday also dismissed a southern separatist currently in the UAE, consolidating Saudi Arabia’s full control over the country’s decision-making body.“It was decided to terminate the membership of Faraj Salmeen Al-Bahsani in the Presidential Leadership Council,” the Saudi-backed body said in an official resolution. Advertis …
