Yemeni President Appoints New Special Forces Chief

Yemen's President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on Tuesday appointed a new Special Forces chief in the southern province of Aden.



Hadi issued a decree appointing Brig. Gen. Thabet Jawas as head of the Special Forces, replacing Brig. Gen. Abdel-Hafez al-Saqqaf, who was named deputy head of the Civil Status and Registration department.



On Feb. 21, Hadi fled Sanaa – where he had been placed under house arrest by the Shiite Houthis group for weeks.



Upon his arrival in Aden, Hadi dismissed as "null" and "illegitimate" all recently-issued Houthi decrees. He also wrote to Yemen's parliament, withdrawing a resignation he had tendered earlier.



Earlier, the Houthis issued what it described as a constitutional declaration, dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.



The declaration, however, was rejected by most of Yemen's political forces – along with some neighboring Gulf countries – which described it as a coup against constitutional legitimacy.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Yemen