ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) on Thursday appointed two new members, replacing two figures affiliated with the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC), according to the state-run Saba news agency.
PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi named former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi and current Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi to the eight-member body. They replace Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the Aden-based STC, and Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani, who were recently dismissed.
Earlier in the day, 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.
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.
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 prolonged war has since created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. ■
