Key facts
- President Rashad al-Alimi dismissed information minister Muammar al-Eryani and named Salem al-Awlaki to replace him.
- Alimi dismissed Yusuf al-Sharaji, responsible for the Taiz front, and brigadier Abu Bakr al-Jabouli.
- Maj Gen Rashad al-Yousfi was handed the task of lifting the siege of Taiz and coordinating forces.
- A counteroffensive launched on October 5 aimed at retaking the entire country from Houthi control failed, the report said.
- Reuters reported Houthi forces were about 37 miles (60km) from Aden, the nominal seat of the government.
Yemen's UN-recognized government replaced senior political and military officials after a counteroffensive launched on October 5 failed to retake territory from the Houthis, the report said. President Rashad al-Alimi dismissed information minister Muammar al-Eryani and named Salem al-Awlaki, a former civil service minister and STC spokesperson from 2017 to 2019, to the post.
Alimi also dismissed Yusuf al-Sharaji, the military figure responsible for the Taiz front, and brigadier Abu Bakr al-Jabouli, responsible for the Tor al-Baha axis. Maj Gen Rashad al-Yousfi, a career officer, was handed the task of lifting the siege of Taiz and coordinating forces. Two other southerners were named ministers for local administration and the civil service, and new leaders were appointed for the civil aviation authority, the ports of Aden and the ministry of transport.
Reuters reported on Monday that Houthi forces were about 37 miles (60km) from Aden, the nominal seat of the government. Fighting has moved into the mountains around Taiz, the country's third-largest city, which has been under a four-week siege.
The government depends on southern troops to fend off Houthi advances, but those forces insist they will fight only to defend land inside former South Yemen. Fresh claims were aired this week that STC leaders were coerced by the Saudis into dissolving the organization against their will.