Saleh’s party rejects new Yemeni government

Yemen's former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh has pulled members of his political party from the newly formed government, in protest of what he says is the current president's support for U.N. sanctions against him.

In a televised speech to the General People's Congress (GPC) party, which he still heads, Saleh said Saturday that the government formed a day earlier failed to represent all factions. Earlier, the party removed current President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi from its leadership.

The GPC said it had appointed two members to the posts of vice president and secretary-general in place of Hadi, who became president after Saleh was forced to resign in February 2012 after a year of bloody protests.

Yemen, which has been in political turmoil due to clashes between rival factions, had announced the formation of a new government on Friday after weeks of unsuccessful attempts. 

Key players, including the Houthi rebels, had signed an agreement on Nov. 1, mandating the president and prime minister to form the new technocratic government.

Later on Friday, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Saleh and two allied Shia Houthi rebel commanders for threatening the peace and stability of the country and obstructing the political process.

Saleh, Abd al-Khaliq al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim are now subject to a global travel ban and asset freeze.

Saleh denied seeking to destabilize Yemen and his party had warned that any sanctions on the former president or "even waving such a threat would have negative consequences on the political process".

The UN decision came after thousands of Saleh and Houthi supporters filled the streets of Sanaa to protest against the move to punish the former leader, accused of being the main backer of the Houthi rebels who have seized large parts of the country, including the capital.

Al Jazeera and wire services