The Houthi group in Yemen has endorsed the new government despite opposition to some ministers, a presidential aide said on Thursday, in a move that could allow Prime Minister Khaled Bahah to focus on restoring state control over the country.
Yemen has been in turmoil since Houthi fighters captured the capital Sanaa in September and forced the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa to resign, Reuters reported.
The Houthi expansion south and west of the capital has led to clashes with tribesmen allied to al Qaeda, with scores of casualties on both sides.
The political bureau of the Houthis Ansarullah group has criticized the 36-member cabinet announced last week by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as “disappointing”, and said some ministers did not meet the requirements stipulated by the power-sharing agreement signed after the capture of Sanaa.
But Saleh al-Samad, a member of the Houthi group appointed by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as a political advisor in September, on Thursday praised Bahah and welcomed the new cabinet while maintaining reservations about some ministers.
“I commend the strength, bravery and prowess of the brother, the prime minister and the capable ministers who are shouldering the responsibility at this sensitive period,” Samad wrote on his Facebook page.
