ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has removed member Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani from office over "serious constitutional violations," the state-run Saba news agency reported on Thursday.
The executive body of Yemen's internationally recognized government said al-Bahsani violated the principle of collective responsibility and failed to carry out the "core duties" of his position.
The council accused al-Bahsani, a former governor of Hadramout, of backing illegal military actions by the Southern Transitional Council (STC). It said he used his office to provide political and legal cover for the mobilization of STC-affiliated forces from outside Hadramout to target the province's civilian and military institutions.
According to the PLC, al-Bahsani also challenged sovereign decisions and obstructed efforts to place Yemen's armed and security forces under the authority of the defense and interior ministries.
No successor was immediately named.
The dismissal follows the PLC's recent move to strip STC leader Aidarous 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 eastern provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah.
The moves underscore the unraveling of a 2022 power-sharing agreement that brought together rival anti-Houthi factions under the PLC.
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 airstrikes on STC-held targets, forcing the group to withdraw from the two provinces.
The reversal weakened the STC, and by early January it had lost most of its territory, including its seat in Aden. A dispute then emerged over the group's future, after an STC delegation in Riyadh announced it would dissolve. The group's official spokesperson and other senior officials rejected the announcement as "null and void," saying it was made under duress and insisting the STC remained fully legitimate and operational.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthi movement seized the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the government, but the war has since created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. ■
