The head of Yemen’s new presidential council Rashad Al-Alimi said on Friday he would end the war with a commitment to a peace process, in his first speech since power was delegated to the body by the Saudi-backed president this week, according to Reuters.
“The leadership council promises the people to end the war and achieve peace through a comprehensive peace process that guarantees the Yemeni people all its aspirations,” Al-Alimi said in the televised speech.
Yemen’s former President Hadi in Saudi Arabia.
Yemen’s president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi delegated power to a presidential council and dismissed his deputy on Thursday.
“I irreversibly delegate to the Presidential Leadership Council my full powers in accordance with the constitution and the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism,” Hadi, who is based in Riyadh, said on state television.
Saudi Arabia’s government announced $3 billion in financial aid to the new Yemen government, and called for talks with the Houthis who control the north and have been battling the Saudi-led coalition.
President Biden recently praised Saudi efforts to mediate an end the war and alleviate suffering in Yemen.
