Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak announces resignation

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, prime minister of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, announced Saturday that he has submitted his resignation, according to Reuters.

In a statement, he noted that he encountered "many difficulties," including the inability to reshuffle his government.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, was appointed as prime minister of the internationally recognized government on Feb. 5. A surprise appointment that allowed him to succeed Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was appointed as a presidential advisor.

The most impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been torn apart since 2014 by an armed conflict between the Houthis, Iranian-backed rebels and pro-government forces, supported by a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition.

The country has, however, experienced a fragile calm since a truce brokered by the United Nations in April 2022. The truce expired last October but remains broadly respected. The Presidential Council represents the internationally recognized government, which the Houthis ousted from the capital, Sanaa, nearly a decade ago. This council is based in the city of Aden, in the south of the country.

A former Yemeni ambassador to the United States, Mubarak is perceived as a long-time opponent of the Houthis, who kidnapped him in 2015 and held him captive for several days. He previously served as chief of staff for the presidential office before being appointed as Yemen's envoy to the United Nations in 2018.