Yemen PM designate declines post

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's Prime Minister designate asked the country's president to relieve him from the new post after Shiite rebels rejected his nomination, the official news agency reported early Thursday.

The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, had rejected President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's choice of a new prime minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, a 46-year-old businessman-turned-political figure, threatening to derail a U.N.-brokered peace deal.

The rebel leader called late Wednesday for new protests, just outside the presidential palace, threatening to renew the violence that left at least 140 people killed and left the rebels in control of the capital.

Yemen's news agency SABA reported early Thursday that bin Mubarak asked Hadi to relieve him of the post to avoid further "split or disagreement" in the country.

On Wednesday night rebel leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi delivered a televised statement calling on supporters to rally Thursday against the choice of bin Mubarak.

Al-Houthi said his group was surprised by the nomination, saying it came after Hadi met with the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. Al-Houthi called Hadi a "puppet" in the hands of foreign powers.

"Blatant foreign interference is a form of circumventing the popular revolution," he said.

The Houthis took control of the capital last month, the same day that a U.N.-brokered deal was reached ending the standoff between the government and the rebels. The Houthis had protested for weeks demanding a better share in power and a change in government.

The deal called for the appointment of a new head of government, and for the Houthis to pull out of the city.

Bin Mubarak was the head of the president's office. Previously, he had successfully led an effort by various political parties — including longtime rivals — to devise a political map for transition after a 2011 uprising in Yemen, the impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula.

One of the youngest politicians in Yemen, bin Mubarak emerged during the uprising that forced longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in a U.S.-backed agreement. Saleh handed over to Hadi the next year but continued to yield significant power.

Yemen faces other challenges.

In addition to the Houthi rebels, an al-Qaida local branch is considered the world's most dangerous branch.

On Wednesday, suspected al-Qaida militants carried out simultaneous attacks on a half-dozen Yemeni security and government offices in a province south of the capital Sanaa, setting off clashes that left at least 29 people dead, security officials said.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said 14 troops and 15 assailants died in the attacks and ensuing clashes in central Baida province. Other security officials told The Associated Press that at least three civilians also were killed.

The ministry said the gunmen assaulted the province's security headquarters, a special forces camp, an intelligence agency office and other government offices using car bombs. Troops fired back and thwarted the assailants' attempt to take over the offices, it said.

The security officials who spoke to AP said the targets included a government communication office and an Education Ministry administrative building. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The United States has been aiding the embattled Yemeni government in the fight against the militants, using drones to target al-Qaida operatives, their camps and hideouts across much of Yemen.