Yemen's ruling council dismissed a second of its members on Thursday over his role in an internal power struggle that escalated into open fighting last month.
Faraj Al Bahsani was removed from the Presidential Leadership Council that runs Yemen's internationally recognised government, based in exile in Aden. Houthi rebels control the capital, Sanaa.
Mr Al Bahsani is also a member of the Southern Transitional Council, which seeks secession for south Yemen. Fighters loyal to the STC moved into oil-rich territory in the south last month, seizing control of Hadhramaut and Mahra provinces.
But pro-government forces won back the territory with the help of a Saudi Arabia-led coalition. In the aftermath, STC commander Aidarous Al Zubaidi was accused of high treason and stripped of his seat on the Presidential Leadership Council.
On Thursday, PLC chief Rashad Al Alimi announced that Mr Al Bahsani had also been dismissed from his position.
A statement from Mr Al Alimi's office accused Mr Al Bahsani of "exploiting his constitutional position to provide political and legal cover for illegal military actions".
It also faulted him for siding with Mr Al Zubaidi and "challenging the sovereign decisions issued by the Presidential Leadership Council, and obstructing efforts to unify the military and security forces".
The statement said Mr Al Bahsani's actions "contributed to undermining national unity ... serving the enemies of the state, foremost among them the terrorist Houthi militias supported by the Iranian regime".
Responding on Thursday evening, Mr Al Bahsani said the decision was made "through unilateral procedures, without investigation, without accountability, without enabling the right to defence or response".
"My positions have been, and remain, positions of state and responsibility," he said. "The accusations contained in the decision are purely political in nature, lacking any evidence."
The STC used to have three seats on the eight-member Presidential Leadership Council, but two have now been expelled.
The third, Abdulrahman Al Mahrami, attended a meeting of the PLC's six remaining members on Thursday, according to Mr Al Alimi's office.
It said members of the council called for a "fair resolution" of the southern issue, with a dialogue to take place in Riyadh. A new military committee is being set up with the aim of unifying pro-government forces.
Among its goals are to "ensure the state’s monopoly on decisions of peace and war, and enhance readiness to face challenges, foremost among them the Houthi threat supported by the Iranian regime," Mr Al Alimi's office said.
The STC said this month it would begin a two-year "transitional phase" leading to a referendum on southern independence. Two Yemeni states existed from the 1960s until their unification in 1990.
The Houthis took over the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting intervention by the Saudi-led coalition the following year, at the request of the internationally recognised government.
The UAE joined the campaign to halt the Houthi advance before withdrawing most of its forces in 2019. It confirmed this month it was ending its remaining counter-terrorism presence in Yemen.
