Yemen's president sacks information minister and two front-line commanders
Yemen's president, Rashad al-Alimi, has dismissed the information minister and two senior military commanders in an effort to win back territory the government lost to the Houthis in September and to lift the siege of Taiz, the country's third-largest city, The Guardian reported on 5 November.
Alimi removed Muammar al-Eryani as information minister and appointed Prof Salem al-Awlaki in his place. Al-Awlaki had previously served as minister for the civil service and as spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council, a southern political group, from 2017 to 2019.
The president also dismissed Yusuf al-Sharaji, the military figure responsible for the Taiz front, and Brigadier Abu Bakr al-Jabouli, who was responsible for the Tor al-Baha axis, a line of military operations on the west coast.
The changes follow a government counteroffensive launched on 5 October with the aim of liberating the country from Houthi control. The Guardian reported that the offensive has failed, with thousands dead on both sides.
The Houthis, who are fighting the government, have advanced south. Reuters has reported that Houthi forces were about 37 miles (60km) from Aden, the port city that is nominally the seat of the government. Taiz had been under a four-week siege by Houthi forces, meaning its access routes were cut off by the advancing fighters.
Al Jazeera reported that many Houthi field commanders and hundreds of fighters were killed in airstrikes in Taiz and on Yemen's western coast.
The Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen's ruling council, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time in months to address the loss of territory along the west coast. Earlier, the government had appointed three new ministers in a cabinet reshuffle, according to The National.
In a statement, the council said a military operation called Fajr al-Yemen was proceeding steadily toward its objectives of ending what it called a coup, restoring state institutions and extending sovereignty over all national territory. It also renewed a pledge to the Yemeni people to restore their right to decide their future, and their children's right to a future not ruled by militias.
