Yemeni defence minister removed following eastern province takeover

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chairman, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, has dismissed the country’s defence minister, Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri, according to Yemeni media reports.

The decree signed by al-Alimi, who also serves as Yemen’s supreme commander of the armed forces, not only removes al-Daeri from his ministerial post but also formally retires him from military service.

Al-Daeri’s ouster comes amid a sharp escalation of the political and security crisis in the republic. In early December 2025, separatist forces from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, seized control of the eastern provinces of Hadramaut and al-Mahra. Following these developments, al-Alimi requested military support from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. On December 30, he imposed a 90-day nationwide state of emergency. Yemeni authorities also terminated the joint defence agreement with the UAE and demanded the withdrawal of Emirati troops, which left the country on January 2.

On the same day, the STC announced the launch of a two-year transitional period that would culminate in the declaration of an independent state called South Arabia, with Aden designated as its capital. On January 3, al-Alimi proposed convening a general conference in Riyadh that would bring together southern political forces to address the crisis. Government forces simultaneously declared that they had restored control over both Hadramaut and al-Mahra.

The STC leadership initially welcomed the idea of a peace conference. However, on the morning of January 7, coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki stated that STC leader Aidarous al-Zoubaidi, who had been scheduled to travel to Riyadh on January 6 for talks with al-Alimi, abruptly disappeared and could not be located.

Later that same day, forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government entered central districts of Aden, the country’s temporary capital, and secured key government facilities after separatist units withdrew from their positions.