Hussein Khairan

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Hussein Khairan
Minister of Defence of Yemen
Assumed office
22 March 2015
President Mohammed Ali al-Houthi
Preceded by Mahmoud al-Subaihi[note 1]
Military service
Allegiance  Yemen
Houthis (from 2015)
Rank Major General[1]
  1. ^ Still claims the office

Hussein Nagi Khairan is a Yemeni military officer. He serves as defence minister for the Houthi-appointed government of Yemen, having been appointed on 22 March 2015 after the defection of Mahmoud al-Subaihi to the internationally recognised government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Aden. According to a Houthi political official, Khairan's appointment placed him in direct command of all military units except for those loyal to Hadi.[2] He reportedly took charge of the military offensive against Hadi's holdouts in southern Yemen.[1]

Khairan previously served from 1993 to 2014 as commander of the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade on Socotra.[2] In December 2014, Hadi named him as chief of staff of the Yemen Army.[3] However, the Houthi militants that occupied Sana'a earlier that year blocked him from entering the defence ministry.[4] Hadi officially fired Khairan as army chief of staff on 5 April, weeks after he switched sides to join the Houthis' ranks.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Rebel Fighters Advance Into Yemen’s Third-Largest City". Bloomberg. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015. 
  2. ^ a b Al-Homaid, Fareed (23 March 2015). "HOUTHIS APPOINT NEW DEFENSE MINISTER". The Yemen Times. Retrieved 31 March 2015. 
  3. ^ "Yemen military chief fired as wave of bombings targets Houthis". Al-Akhbar. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014. 
  4. ^ Ghobari, Mohammed (16 December 2014). "Houthis block Yemen army chief, accuse president of corruption". Retrieved 31 March 2015. 
  5. ^ Brumfield, Ben (6 April 2015). "Death toll rises quickly as conflict rages in Yemen". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2015.