Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on Monday appointed a man affiliated with his country's Shiite Houthi movement as the new commander of Yemen's special forces. Col. Abdel-Razik al-Marawani was appointed as the new commander of the special security combat force, Yemen's official news agency reported. Al-Marawani had been the chief of staff of the forces, which is affiliated to the Yemeni Interior Ministry. In November, protests erupted inside the unit and later a Houthi propagandist said that the Shiite group had selected al-Marawani to be the new head of the force. Houthis have turned into a significant political and military power in Yemen in September when they occupied capital Sanaa and then moved to extend their control to other Yemeni provinces. Yemen in general has been suffering growing instability since 2011 when a popular uprising ousted longstanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh a year later. AA