Saudi Arabia begins transferring powers of Al-Alimi to military council

ADEN, Dec. 05 (YPA) – Saudi Arabia began transferring powers of Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of Riyadh-formed  Presidential Council to a Saudi military team, headed by Abdulhadi al-Maleh, who arrived in Aden late on Sunday.

The Riyadh-based Saba News Agency, reported that Al-Maleh leads a Saudi team whose mission is to support the Presidential Council militarily and politically.

According to the agency, he met earlier with Al-Alimi and discussed with him ways of cooperation in managing the next stage.

Saudi Arabia’s dispatch of a military team to Aden and tasked with running the affairs of the pro-government authority came on the eve of reports of an attempt by al-Alimi to rebel after Saudi Arabia refused to hand over the $3 billion grant.

Al-Alimi arrived to Aden coming from the UAE after reconciliation with Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC),  on a special plane to spray pesticides after Saudi Arabia detained his presidential plane, which left the city of Aden.

Abdullah al-Hatila, assistant editor-in-chief of the Saudi official Okaz newspaper, revealed his country’s resentment of Al-Alimi’s return to Aden.

He indicated in a statement to the media that al-Alimi would not be able to achieve what he described as “the aspirations of the Yemeni people” without sufficient support from what he described as the “Arab-rejecting projects of Iran.”

E.M