ADEN: Tens ofthousands of Yemenis rallied in Aden yesterday in support of separatist forceswho took over the southern port, the temporary seat of Yemen's Saudi-backedgovernment, in a move that exposed rifts in a Sunni Muslim military coalition.The United Arab Emirates-backed southern separatists seized control ofgovernment military bases last weekend, fracturing the Saudi-led alliancebattling the Iran-aligned Houthi group and complicating UN peace efforts to endthe war. "There is no daylight between the UAE and Saudi Arabia when itcomes to Yemen. We are completely aligned," a UAE official said in astatement.
"We remaindeeply concerned over the situation in Aden, and the coalition's engagementon-the-ground is evolving with the aim of establishing conditions forstability, security and peace," the official added. Demonstrators demandedrecognition of southerners' right to self-rule in Aden, where the government ofAbd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is based after being ousted from power in the capitalSanaa by the Houthis in late 2014.
Many travelledinto Aden from other southern provinces on Wednesday, sleeping overnight in thecentral parade square. One man held up a battered old identity document fromformer South Yemen and many waved the South Yemen flag. "We call on theinternational community and the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAEto respect the southern people as a key partner in stemming the Persian tide inthe region and fighting terrorism to achieve...regional and globalstability," said a statement to mark the rally.
The separatistsare a major component of the Western-backed alliance that intervened in Yemenagainst the Houthis in March 2015, but have a rival agenda to Hadi'sgovernment. The war has revived old strains between north and south Yemen,formerly separate countries that united into a single state in 1990. The rallystatement, issued by civil society groups and unions, accused Hadi's governmentof mismanagement, saying it had become "a guillotine at Yemenis'necks". The Southern Transitional Council (STC) took over Aden afteraccusing the Islah party allied to Hadi of being complicit in a Houthi missileattack on southern forces earlier this month, a charge the party denies.
Politicalsettlement
A local officialtold Reuters that separatist forces had moved away from the nearly emptypresidential palace and central bank. There was no sign yet they had quit themilitary camps. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said a Saudi-UAE team arrived in Adenyesterday. An STC spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday they would keep controlunless the Islamist Islah, seen by the UAE as an offshoot of the MuslimBrotherhood, and northerners were removed from positions of power in the south.
Hadi's governmenthas called the move a "coup". The UAE has echoed a Saudi call fordialogue to exit the crisis but did not call on southern forces it funds andarms to cede control. The UAE official said Abu Dhabi and Riyadh continue tocall on all parties to meet to discuss a political settlement. Riyadh wants tohost a summit to resolve matters. Hadi's government said it would notparticipate until STC forces withdraw and asked Abu Dhabi to stop backing them.
The UAE, SaudiArabia's main military ally on the ground for most of the war, has scaled backits presence in Yemen since June amid Western pressure to end the war that haskilled tens of thousands and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. It said itwill continue to back some 90,000 Yemeni forces made up of southern separatistsand coastal plain fighters. The war is largely seen in the region as a proxywar between Saudi Arabia and Tehran. The Houthis say their revolution isagainst a corrupt system.
The UAE pull-backand the Aden crisis come as the United Nations tries to reduce tensionsthroughout the country to pave the way for peace talks. The Houthis, whocontrol Sanaa and most big urban centers, point to Aden as proof that Hadi isunfit to rule and cannot be a serious partner in any negotiations. "Werespect the masses gathered in our beloved south today. Anyone who does notrespect the multitudes in the north and south who reject Hadi and his followersmust be sick and deranged," Houthi deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Azzitweeted.- Reuters