Yemen government reshuffle reinforces Saudi influence

Supporters of Legal Government hold the portraits of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi during a protest against the Yemen peace plan proposed by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Ma’rib, Yemen on November 3, 2016. (Ali Owidha – Anadolu Agency)

Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi is expected to announce a new government reshuffle that will reinforce Saudi influence and increases tension with the UAE, The New Gulf reported on Friday.

Citing Yemeni news websites, The New Gulf said that Hadi is expected to choose the former prime minister of what was previously South Yemen, Haidar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, close to Saudi Arabia, as a senior aide. This will in turn damage Ahmed Bin Breik, who is close to the UAE and who recognised the Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist movement looking to revive South Yemen.

In response to the announcement of the Transitional Council, Al-Attas clearly announced that he is rejecting any measures aiming to divide Yemen, saying that the battle is currently with the Houthis and their ally, ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Al-Attas is expected to be chosen as a second deputy for Hadi in order to contain the current crisis in the south of Yemen, anonymous informed sources said, according to a Yemeni news website.

Al-Attas’ nomination is said to have pleased Saudi Arabia and increased tension between Hadi and the UAE, which has accused Hadi of getting closer to the Muslim Brotherhood in the country.

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