SANAA

The UN and Gulf countries have joined the chorus of condemnation of an announcement by Yemen’s Shia Houthi group to form a "national salvation" government in the war-torn country. 

On Monday, the Houthis and allied forces of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced from capital Sanaa -- which they captured in 2014 -- the formation of a "national salvation" government.

Headed up by Abdul Aziz Bin Habtoor, a former governor of Yemen’s southern city of Aden, the new government is comprised of 35 ministers, including seven ministers of state and three deputy premiers.

In a Tuesday statement, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the formation of the new government contradicted commitments made by Yemen’s warring rivals and complicates efforts aimed at reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict.

"The parties must hold Yemen’s national interests above narrow partisan ambitions and take immediate steps to end political divisions and address the country’s security, humanitarian and economic challenges," he said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), meanwhile, rejected the Houthi government, reiterating that President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi was still Yemen’s legitimate president.

"The formation of the new government proves that the Houthis and Saleh’s followers are not serious about engaging in political negotiations," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani said in a statement.

He said the Houthi move aims to "torpedo efforts by the UN envoy to end war in Yemen and revive political negotiations with a view to reaching a political solution".

On Tuesday, the Yemeni presidency said the Houthi announcement was meant to undermine peace efforts in war-torn Yemen.

Similar condemnations of the Houthi government were made by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Yemen has been racked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and pro-Saleh forces overran Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing Hadi and members of his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

Last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Two rounds of UN-backed peace talks have failed to resolve the raging conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis have been killed and some 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.

Reporting by Zakaria al-Kamaali; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat;