Aden (Yemen), Jan 30 (IANS): Chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi has issued a republican decree to form new reserve military units in the war-ravaged Arab country to fight the Houthi rebels.

"President Rashad al-Alimi issued a decree to establish reserve military units called the Nation Shield Forces, which will be under his personal supervision and leadership as the supreme commander of Yemen's armed forces," said a statement released by the state-run Saba news agency on Sunday.

According to the decree, al-Alimi "has the legitimate right to determine the number of these forces, their tasks, and the place of their military operations in an upcoming order issued only by him".

Al-Alimi also issued a decree appointing Brigadier Bashir Saif Qaid al-Subaihi as Commander of the newly-formed Nation Shield Forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Subaihi is one of the prominent military leaders who participated in the previous military operation to liberate the southern port city of Aden and the southern provinces from the Houthis in 2015.

Earlier this month, local officials said Yemen's warring parties were gearing up for new waves of conflict in 2023 amid a lack of decisive steps toward sustainable peace.

Various regions in Yemen have witnessed sporadic armed confrontations between the local warring factions after a cease-fire brokered by the United Nations in April last year expired in last October.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.