Yemen MPs in Aden Ahead of Voting in Presidential Council, Govt

Speaker Sultan al-Burkani and lawmakers arrive in Aden on Sunday. (Saba)
Speaker Sultan al-Burkani and lawmakers arrive in Aden on Sunday. (Saba)
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Yemen MPs in Aden Ahead of Voting in Presidential Council, Govt

Speaker Sultan al-Burkani and lawmakers arrive in Aden on Sunday. (Saba)
Speaker Sultan al-Burkani and lawmakers arrive in Aden on Sunday. (Saba)

Several Yemeni lawmakers, ministers and members of the Shura Council arrived in the interim capital Aden on Sunday ahead of the arrival of the new Presidential Leadership Council to the city.

The council and new government are set to be sworn in in the city, capping the transition of power from former Presindent Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Informed government sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani, members of the Presidential and Shura Councils and lawmakers arrived in Aden flying in from Riyadh.

Head of the Presidential Council Rashad al-Alimi and the seven members of the body will arrive at a later time as a security precaution, they added.

In 2020, the Iran-backed Houthi militias launched a ballistic missile attack against the then newly government as it was arriving at Aden airport. Several people were killed and wounded in the assault. The prime minister was unharmed.

In his first remarks to the press since his appointment, Alimi expressed last week his confidence that national efforts and unity will succeed in translating into action the outcomes of the intra-Yemeni consultations that were held in Riyadh earlier this month.

The Council is seeking the "highest level of consensus" among Yemenis given the challenges facing their country.

The Council will rely on consensus between local forces and political and societal groupings to operate with the aim to restore the state and ease the suffering of the people.

It stressed that achieving economic stability and easing humanitarian suffering are its top priorities.

"We realize the amount of challenges ahead of us, but we are determined enough to forge ahead," said Alimi.

"We are relying on the cooperation of all sides, on the local, regional and international levels, to fulfill our national duties" he declared.



Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
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Hemedti Admits Forces Withdrew from Sudan Capital

A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)
A picture shows burnt vehicles in a southern neighbourhood of Khartoum on March 29, 2025, after the military recaptured the capital. (Photo by AFP)

The head of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces admitted in a speech to fighters on Sunday that the group had withdrawn from the capital but pledged the RSF would return stronger to Khartoum.

"I confirm to you that we have indeed left Khartoum, but... we will return with even stronger determination," Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in the speech, three days after the group said there would be "no retreat.”

It was Dagalo's first comment since the RSF were pushed back from most parts of Khartoum by the Sudanese army during a devastating war that has lasted two years.

Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, conceded in an audio message on Telegram that his forces left the capital last week as the army consolidated its gains.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF in a video statement on Saturday in which he vowed to crush the group.

"We will neither forgive, nor compromise, nor negotiate," he said, reaffirming the military's commitment to restoring national unity and stability.

Earlier on Saturday, the army said it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, which had previously been used by the RSF to launch attacks during a devastating two-year-old war.

Burhan also said fighters who "repent to the truth" could still be amnestied if they lay down their arms, particularly those who are in rebel-held areas.