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Yemen President Names New Defence Chiefs
[An Nahar] The Yemeni president replaced the defence minister and the army chief of staff on Thursday, as government forces press a five-month assault on the rebel-held port of Hodeida, state media said.President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi named Mohammed al-Maqdashi as defence minister to replace Mahmoud al-Subaihi who has been detained by the rebels for years, the government-run Saba news agency reported. Hadi had not replaced the detained minister since 2014, when the rebels overran the capital Sanaa. The naming of a replacement comes days after neutral Oman intervened in an attempt to secure Subaihi's release. Hadi also named Abdullah al-Nakhii as chief of staff. A week of intense fighting for Hodeida has left hundreds of combatants dead as government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition advance into the rebel-held port city. Hadi last month fired his prime minister on accusations of corruption. Posted by: Fred 2018-11-09 |
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