Aden, April 20 (BNA) The internationally recognized Yemeni Presidency Council took the constitutional oath in the southern port city of Aden, state media reported.
The Yemeni news agency (Saba) said that the constitutional oath was sworn in before Parliament in a ceremony attended by foreign ambassadors and envoys of the United States and the United Nations to Yemen.
Aden has served as the temporary seat of the internationally recognized government since Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, sparking the long-running civil war in Yemen.
The Presidential Council was appointed earlier this month after former President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi stepped down. Hadi transferred his powers and the powers of his deputy to the council, which will run the country and lead peace talks with the Houthis.
Hadi’s move came during the concerted international and regional efforts to end the conflict, according to the Associated Press.
The move angered the Iranian-backed Houthis, as it was aimed at uniting the anti-Houthi camp after years of fighting and disputes. This came as the Houthis and the government embarked on a 60-day UN-brokered truce earlier this month.
The council is headed by Rashad Al-Alimi, Hadi’s advisor and former interior minister in the government of late President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Al-Alimi called on the international community to pressure the Houthis to engage in peace efforts because he said the rebels were still attacking the central city of Ma’rib and other government-controlled areas despite the truce.
He stressed that the council is committed to “ending the (Houthi) coup and war” and establishing “a just and lasting peace that preserves the state and its constitutional institutions.”
Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Barakani echoed the same message. But he warned that they were ready to continue fighting after the anti-Houthi camp was unified.
“This is our chance to walk the path of just and honorable peace,” he said. “Our hands are still stretched out (for peace) and our weapons are ready at the same time.”
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The council has seven other members, including Aidaros al-Zubaidi, head of the separatist Southern Transitional Council – an umbrella group of heavily armed militias.
Also on the council are Sheikh Sultan al-Arada, the powerful ruler of the energy-rich Ma’rib province, and Tariq Saleh, a militia leader and nephew of the late president who has close ties to the UAE.
The other member is Abd al-Rahman Abu Zara’a, the commander of the UAE-backed Giants Brigades, who recently played a crucial role in repelling the Houthi attack on the central city of Ma’rib.
Iran supports the Houthis, while government forces receive help from a Saudi-led coalition that launched an air campaign in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government.