Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, speaks during the swearing-in ceremony in Aden, Yemen, April 19, 2022. Amid tight security, the newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) took the constitutional oath to officially assume its power on Tuesday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden. (Str/Xinhua)
ADEN, Yemen, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Amid tight security, the newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) took the constitutional oath to officially assume its power on Tuesday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden.
The eight-member council took the oath in front of the Yemeni Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Barakani, with the attendance of the country's influential political figures, foreign ambassadors, and representatives from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On April 7, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued a decree on establishing the PLC to succeed him in running the government and holding peace talks with the Houthi militia.
The council is headed by Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, an advisor to Hadi and former interior minister under the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al-Alimi is known for close ties with various factions in Yemen as well as with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the two major supporters of the Yemeni government in its war with the Houthis.
Other members include Aidarous Zubaidi, the head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Sheikh Sultan Al-Aradah, the governor of the oil-rich Marib Province, and Tariq Saleh, former President Saleh's nephew.
A local security official said the Aden-based STC, which is controlling the port city, deployed its well-trained security units across the city to ensure the safety of the ceremony.
In the past days, nearly 165 Saudi-backed Yemeni political figures arrived in Aden from Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh to take their offices in Aden following years of exile.
The new presidential council chose Aden, which enjoys relative stability and prosperity in the war-torn country, as the main stronghold for running the country in this new significant transitional phase, the anonymous security official said.
Despite some breaches, the UN-brokered two-month ceasefire starting on April 2 is still in effect.
In 2014, the Houthi militia captured large swathes of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, forcing Hadi into exile to seek asylum in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 to support the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthi militia.
The Yemeni civil war had reportedly killed more than 370,000 people and displaced around 4 million others by the end of 2021. Around two-thirds of the country's 30 million citizens need humanitarian assistance, according to a UN report. ■
Photo taken on April 19, 2022 shows the scene of the swearing-in ceremony of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council in Aden, Yemen. Amid tight security, the newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) took the constitutional oath to officially assume its power on Tuesday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden. (Str/Xinhua)
Members of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and other political figures attend the PLC's swearing-in ceremony in Aden, Yemen, on April 19, 2022. Amid tight security, the newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) took the constitutional oath to officially assume its power on Tuesday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden. (Str/Xinhua)
