Just hours after Yemen announced the formation of a transitional unity government, authorities late on Wednesday released southern opposition leader from jail.

Just Hours after Yemen announced the formation of a transitional unity government, authorities late on Wednesday released southern opposition leader from jail.

Hassan Baoum and his son Fawaz were arrested on February 20 in Yemen's southern port city Aden, where they had planned to join an anti-government protest.
"My father and brother Fawaz were both released in Sanaa," said Fadi Baoum, another son of the southern opposition leader.

Baoum heads the supreme council of the Southern Movement whose members call for either independence or increased autonomy from north Yemen. He has been arrested on several occasions by the central government.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi announced the new 35-member national unity government. The cabinet will be headed by independent politician Mohammed Basindwa.

Half of the new cabinet ministers are from the opposition, while President Ali Abdullah Saleh loyalists make up the other half as required by the power transition deal, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Even after a cabinet reshuffle, several Saleh-era ministers remained in their old posts, including the key portfolios of defense foreign affairs and oil.

The ministries of interior, finance and information, however, were given to the opposition. The cabinet also includes two women.

The new government will carry out its duties for three months, after which early elections will be held.