Sanaa, Jan 13 (IANS/EFE): Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi has appointed three officers loyal to the Houthi Shia movement and to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to top positions in the Special Security Forces, state news agency Saba reported Tuesday.

In the first of two decrees, Hadi designated Brig. Gen. Abdul Razak Mohammed al-Marwani as leader of the Special Forces, formerly known as the Central Security Forces, during Saleh's time in office.

The second decree appointed Gen. Ali Qurqur as chief of staff and Col. Nasr al Shusbi as director of operations.

Al-Marwani is loyal to the Houthis, while Qurqur and Al-Shusbi are followers of Saleh, who ceded power to Hadi two years ago after an uprising against his regime.

Saleh has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council for attempting to thwart the political transition in Yemen.

The appointment of Houthis in key positions is according to the terms of an agreement signed between the Shia movement and the Yemeni presidency in September.

One point of the agreement was that Houthis must be present in all organs of the state, both civilian and military.