Internationally Recognized Government (Yemen)

The Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) refers to the institutions of the Yemeni state that are recognized by the international community. The IRG is based in the interim capital of Aden since February 2015, when President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi fled Yemen’s capital Sanaa, after it was overrun by forces of the Houthi-Saleh alliance in late 2014. It is currently led by an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chaired by former Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi. The PLC is committed to achieving peace within what it terms the ‘three references’: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative; the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC); and United Nations Security Council resolution 2216. Significant political differences exist among the members of the PLC, including the future shape of the Yemeni state and its international alliances. IRG military forces are commanded by Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz and are present in the governorates of former southern Yemen¹ as well as the governorates of al-Jawf, Hajjah, Marib, Saada, and Taizz.

IRG Leadership

The IRG is led by an eight-member PLC chaired by former Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi. The council was created by the Saudi-led Coalition in April 2022 with little to no Yemeni input, with the aim of grouping together all major anti-Houthi camps. PLC members with the most military might include Tariq Saleh, leader of the National Resistance; Abdulrahman al-Muharrami, leader of the Southern Giants Brigades; and Aydarus al-Zubaydi, leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC). The PLC also includes Marib Governor Sultan al-Arada, Islah party member Abdullah al-Alimi, former Hadramawt Governor Faraj al-Bahsani, and General People’s Congress (GPC) member Uthman al-Mujali. PLC members are only bound by their common anti-Houthi stance and the council is plagued with internal divisions, with the strongest faultline existing around pro-unity and southern secessionist aspirations.

Historical Background

After a presidency that lasted more than 30 years, President Ali Abdullah Saleh relinquished power as the head of the Republic of Yemen in 2011. Pressured by the Youth Uprising and an assassination attempt, Ali Abdullah Saleh ceded power for immunity through an agreement brokered by the GCC. Authority was passed to then-Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was later elected president in a single-candidate election in February 2012. Between 2013 and 2014, Hadi led Yemen’s political transition, chairing the NDC, the outcomes of which were intended to shape Yemen’s political roadmap and contribute to the drafting of a new constitution. However, in September 2014, the alliance of forces loyal to the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh took over Yemen’s capital Sanaa, putting Hadi under house arrest in January 2015. One month later, Hadi managed to escape and tried to resume the IRG’s functions in the port city of Aden, retracting the resignation he previously tendered while under arrest.

In March, Houthi-Saleh forces advanced south, capturing Aden and prompting Hadi’s retreat to Riyadh. At this stage, the IRG held nominal control over the Yemeni armed forces, which, however, were either disbanded or had pledged loyalty to Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hence, opposition to the Houthis emerged spontaneously, through the Southern and Popular Resistance Forces. Furthermore, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen on 26 March 2015, to support the IRG and reinstate Hadi. The Coalition’s intervention was retrospectively legitimated by the UN Security Council with resolution 2216, issued in April 2015.

During the conflict, the IRG faced internal tensions, divided among a weakened faction aligned with the GPC, forces loyal to the Islah party, and southern secessionist groups. In April 2016, before peace talks in Kuwait with the Houthi-Saleh camp, Hadi removed Prime Minister Khalid Bahah, appointing the Islah-leaning military commander Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar. This move solidified Islah’s control over the Yemeni army and the Marib and Taizz provinces, ultimately eclipsing its historical GPC rival. 

The rise of Islah within the IRG prompted the United Arab Emirates to train paramilitary units and support secessionist forces in southern Yemen, aiming to counter Islah’s increasing influence. Between 2018 and 2019, UAE-backed forces aligned with the STC clashed with pro-Hadi and pro-Islah units, consolidating their control over Aden, al-Dali, Lahij, and other southern areas. In December 2020, the establishment of a power-sharing cabinet succeeded in reducing tensions within the IRG camp, materializing an agreement reached in Riyadh in November 2019.

In April 2022, days after a UN-mediated truce came into effect, President Hadi, under pressure from the Saudi-led Coalition, transferred his powers and those of Vice President Ali Muhsin to an eight-member PLC, in a further attempt at unifying ranks. Nevertheless, significant tensions persist within the PLC, with the strongest faultline existing around pro-unity and southern secessionist aspirations. In August 2022, just four months after the creation of the PLC, STC-affiliated forces took control of Shabwa governorate following days of clashes with pro-unity forces aligned with the Islah party. In a further blow to unity within the anti-Houthi camp, two members of the PLC – leader of the Southern Giants Brigades Abdulrahman al-Muharrami and former Hadramawt governor Faraj al-Bahsani – have joined the secessionist STC in May 2023. In addition to its internal fragmentation, the IRG also grapples with financial reliance on the Coalition.

In late 2023, amidst ongoing bilateral talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, the PLC committed to UN-brokered measures to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen.² On 5 January 2024, PLC chairman al-Alimi decreed the establishment of a new central intelligence agency, thus merging government services and other UAE-backed agencies.³

Timeline

• 1990
  • May | The southern People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen and the northern Yemen Arab Republic unify to form the Republic of Yemen
• 1994
  • May – Jul. | A civil war erupts in Yemen as the southern Democratic Republic of Yemen attempts to break away and is defeated by Republic of Yemen forces
• 2012
  • Feb. | Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is elected president of the Republic of Yemen in a single-candidate election 
• 2013-14
  • Mar. 2013 – Jan. 2014 | A National Dialogue Conference takes place in Yemen to plan the IRG political transition
• 2014
  • Sep. | Houthi-Saleh forces clash with IRG forces and take control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa
• 2015
  • Feb. – Mar. | President Hadi flees to Aden and declares the city to be Yemen’s interim capital
  • Mar. | A Saudi-led Coalition of regional countries intervenes militarily in Yemen to restore President Hadi 
• 2019
  • Aug. | Pro-STC and pro-unity forces clash in southern Yemen and pro-STC forces take control of the interim capital Aden
  • Nov. | IRG President Hadi and STC President Aydarus al-Zubaydi sign the Riyadh Agreement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to defuse tensions
• 2020
  • Dec. | IRG President Hadi swears in a power-sharing cabinet with equal northern and southern representation including five STC members
• 2022
  • Apr. | President Hadi hands over his powers to the PLC amid a UN-mediated truce
• 2023
  • 23 Dec. | The PLC commits to UN-brokered measures to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen
• 2024
  • 5 Jan. | PLC chairman al-Alimi decrees the establishment of a central intelligence agency