Just 33 hours after his appointment was announced, Yemen’s new prime minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, abandoned the post, shortly after the Houthi militia called for mass protests against the “foreign interference” it said was behind his selection. Mubarak said in a Facebook post that he had turned down the appointment by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi during Mubarak’s first meeting with presidential advisers. He did not directly refer to the Houthi criticism. Hadi had promised to reshape the government as part of a deal with the Houthis, members of the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, stemming from the group's takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 12.
