ADEN, Yemen - Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) on Thursday appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani as the country's new prime minister, following the council's approval of the resignation of Prime Minister Salem Bin Buraik, state media reported.
According to the state-run Saba news agency, at a meeting in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, the PLC endorsed al-Zindani as the new prime minister and tasked him with forming a government in line with Yemeni constitutional and relevant laws.
The council also appointed Salem Bin Buraik as advisor to the PLC's chief Rashad al-Alimi for financial and economic affairs, Saba said.
The appointment comes amid ongoing efforts by the PLC to strengthen state institutions and advance political reforms, as Yemen grapples with protracted economic and humanitarian challenges caused by years of conflict.
Earlier in the day, the PLC appointed former defense minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi and Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi. replacing two members who had been dismissed for their affiliation with the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC), according to Saba.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the Aden-based STC, and Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani, who were recently dismissed, were replaced.
The PLC removed al-Bahsani over what it described as "serious constitutional violations". Saba reported that the decision followed his alleged involvement in an internal power struggle within the council that escalated into armed clashes last month.
The PLC accused al-Bahsani, former governor of Hadramout and an ally of STC, of challenging sovereign decisions and obstructing efforts to place Yemen's armed and security forces under the authority of the defense and interior ministries.
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In response, al-Bahsani rejected the accusations in a statement posted on X, saying the decision was taken "through unilateral procedures, without investigation, without accountability, and without enabling the right to defense or response".
"My positions have been, and remain, positions of state and responsibility," he said, adding that the accusations were "purely political in nature and lacking any evidence".
The latest decision follows the PLC's recent move to strip STC leader al-Zubaidi of his council membership and refer him to prosecutors on charges of high treason, accusing him of threatening Yemen's unity through armed rebellion in the country's provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah.
The STC previously held three seats on the eight-member PLC, but two of those seats have now been vacated following the dismissals, further weakening the group's representation within the Saudi-backed governing body that runs Yemen's internationally recognized government.
The developments underscore growing strains within the PLC and point to the unraveling of a 2022 power-sharing agreement that brought together rival anti-Houthi factions under a single governing framework.
Tensions in southern Yemen escalated in December 2025 after forces loyal to the STC took control of large swathes of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah. Saudi Arabia later carried out heavy airstrikes on STC-held sites, forcing the group to withdraw from both provinces.
The setback significantly weakened the STC, and by early January, it had lost most of its remaining territory, including its seat in Aden. A dispute subsequently emerged over the group's future after an STC delegation in Riyadh announced it would dissolve.
But the group's official spokesperson, Anwar Al-Tamimi, and other senior officials rejected the announcement as "null and void", saying it was made under duress and insisting the STC remained legitimate and operational.
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Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the government, but the prolonged war has since created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
