Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak Resigns Amid Government Struggles
SANAA – Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the Prime Minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, announced his resignation on Saturday, citing numerous difficulties, including an inability to carry out a government reshuffle.
Mubarak’s departure follows a conflict with Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s presidential council, after Al-Alimi rejected Mubarak’s request to dismiss 12 government ministers, according to six government sources who spoke to Reuters.
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Sources also indicated that Finance Minister Salem Saleh Bin Braik is expected to be named the new prime minister.
Mubarak was appointed as prime minister in February 2024 after a tenure as Yemen’s foreign minister. He gained prominence in 2015, when he was kidnapped by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia during their conflict with then-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. At that time, Mubarak served as Yemen’s presidential chief of staff.
Mubarak’s resignation comes at a time when the United States has intensified airstrikes against Houthi military assets to prevent the group from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. These strikes, which began in March, have marked the largest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war for more than a decade. In 2014, the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and ousted the recognized government, forcing it to move to the southern port city of Aden. The Houthis now control much of Yemen, including its key population centers in the north and west.
