In a significant development reflecting the depth of the challenges facing unity within the Yemeni government, the Republic of Yemen officially requested on Saturday that the United Arab Emirates allow Major General Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, to leave its territory and travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This request comes amidst a breakdown in communication with al-Bahsani and his absence from his constitutional duties, which has sparked widespread concern in Yemeni political circles.
Details of the crisis and communication breakdown
A senior official in the Yemeni Presidential Office explained that the Presidential Leadership Council Secretariat had observed a near-complete breakdown in communication with Major General Al-Bahsani over the past few weeks. The official noted that this unexplained absence coincided with intensive government efforts to contain the escalation of violence in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, two governorates of significant strategic and economic importance within Yemen.
The Presidency expressed its surprise at the conflicting positions shown by Al-Bahsani, as he had given initial approval to respond to the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hold consultations in Riyadh in mid-December, but he did not attend, citing that he was prevented from boarding the plane. He then returned and endorsed the steps to hold a conference on the southern issue, before he disappeared completely and it became impossible to contact him.
Context of the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council and its importance
To understand the dimensions of this tension, one must go back to April 2022, when the Presidential Leadership Council was formed, headed by Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, with seven members representing various active forces on the ground, including Faraj al-Bahsani, who was then governor of Hadramawt and commander of the Second Military Region. The council's formation was a pivotal step toward unifying the anti-Houthi front, under the direct auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with the aim of restoring state institutions and ending the coup.
Membership in the council is a constitutional responsibility that requires collective action and adherence to the rules of transferring power, as emphasized by the presidential source, who stressed that this membership cannot be reduced to narrow regional or political representation, nor can it be disrupted by individual calculations outside the framework of the state.
Potential repercussions and the impact of the situation on the Yemeni scene
This development carries extremely important political implications on several levels:
- Locally: Al-Bahsani's continued absence and his statements via the X platform threaten to inflame the situation in Hadramawt, Yemen's largest oil-producing governorate, which is witnessing sharp political tensions. The cohesion of the Presidential Leadership Council is the cornerstone of maintaining relative stability in the liberated areas.
- Regionally: The official Yemeni request reflects a keen interest in the pivotal Saudi role in bridging the divide, as the presidency called for Al-Bahsani to join the efforts sponsored by Riyadh to address the situation and remove any ambiguities.
- Politically: Any crack in the legitimate power structure negatively affects the position of the internationally recognized government in any future peace negotiations with the Houthis, which necessitates urgent intervention to ensure the unity of sovereign decision-making.
The presidential source concluded his statement by emphasizing that the state is proceeding with consolidating the prestige of its institutions, and that the current stage requires clarity and full commitment to the references, in order to ensure the mobilization of energies towards the ultimate goal of restoring the state and ending the human suffering caused by the Houthi militias.
