By Fouad Mosaad
SANAA, Yemen
Yemen's Prime Minister-designate Ahmed bin Mubarak has declined the post, shortly after Shiite Houthis called protests against his appointment.
"I apologize for not accepting the post," bin Mubarak said in a statement on his Facebook page late Wednesday.
He said that his refusal of the post aims to "expose the political forces which are unable to shoulder the political process and defend Yemen".
On Tuesday, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi tasked his office director bin Mubarak with forming a new government as part of a deal signed with the Houthis to end a lingering political crisis in the country.
The appointment, however, was rejected by the Houthis, who argued that the premier-designate was "dictated" by Washington.
Thousands of Houthi militants controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa late last month despite an agreement signed with Hadi to end the political crisis in the country.
The Houthi control of Sanaa has sent shockwaves across the Arabian Peninsula where there is growing fear of a Shiite uprising in Yemen.
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