Yemen’s Saudi-backed government appoints new prime minister

FM Shaya Mohsen Zindani named as new PM, as Saudi Arabia moves to consolidate control over Yemen’s presidential body.Published On 16 Jan 2026Yemen’s Saudi-backed ‍presidential leadership ‍council has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsin al-Zindani as the ⁠country’s new prime minister, the state news agency ​Saba has reported.Bin Breik formally ‍submitted the resignation, which was approved by the council, before Zindani was named to form the next cabinet, ‍Saba said on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Yemeni southern separatists in Riyadh announce disputed disbanding of STClist 2 of 4After STC hubris, dream of South Yemen looks further awaylist 3 of 4Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somalilandlist 4 of 4Who is Aidarous al-Zubaidi? Yemen’s ‘traitor’ chiefend of listYemen ⁠has been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.The main southern Yemeni separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council – which Saudi Arabia says is backed by the UAE – gained control of areas across southern and ​eastern Yemen in December, advancing ‌to within reach of the Saudi border, which the kingdom considered a threat to its national security.Saudi-backed fighters have ‌since largely retaken those areas.Sharp differences over a range of other issues, from geopolitics to oil output, have also been a cause of friction between the two Gulf powers.Saudi Arabia and the UAE had ‌previously worked together in a coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, which led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.Meanwhile, Yemen’s eight-seat presidential body on Thursday also dismissed a southern separatist currently in the UAE, consolidating Saudi Arabia’s full control over the country’s decision-making body.“It was decided to terminate the membership of Faraj Salmeen Al-Bahsani in the Presidential Leadership Council,” the Saudi-backed body said in an official resolution.