SANAA, Yemen /ISTANBUL

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi issued a decree on Saturday appointing Salem bin Buraik as the country’s new prime minister, replacing Ahmed bin Mubarak, who announced his resignation earlier in the day.

According to the official Saba News Agency, the decree was issued by the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, and the first article says Salem bin Buraik will be appointed prime minister.

The second article of the decree states that “the members of the government shall continue to do their jobs in accordance with the decision about their appointment.”

Earlier in the day, bin Mubarak announced his resignation, citing repeated obstructions that prevented him from exercising his constitutional authority.

Mubarak explained that he had faced many challenges during his tenure, “most notably being denied the ability to exercise my constitutional powers in making necessary decisions to reform several state institutions, as well as being prevented from carrying out the overdue cabinet reshuffle.”

The resignation comes amid a worsening economic crisis in Yemen. The Yemeni rial is experiencing an unprecedented collapse, deepening the suffering of citizens in a country the United Nations has described as facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The Yemeni government has said it is struggling with a severe financial shortfall due to the ongoing halt of oil exports, which has been in place since October 2022 following Houthi attacks on oil facilities.

The Houthi group has tied the resumption of exports to an agreement on how revenues would be distributed and used to pay public sector salaries nationwide.​​​​​​​

Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country from the internationally recognized government.