Thousands in Yemen demand separation from north

May 24 Global times

Several thousands of the pro- secession southern movement staged protests in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Wednesday to renew calls for separation from the north.

The anti-unity rallies took place in Aden's neighborhood of Mualla, where several thousands of secessionist protesters marched in a main street near the local government headquarters calling for an end to the country's 24 years of unification.

The protests were organized by the separatist Southern Movement and high-ranking leaders of the former South Yemen, which was an independent state until it united with the north in 1990.

The Yemeni security forces intensified presence around two major sit-in squares in Aden's neighborhood of Khor Maksar and the roads near several foreign Arab consulates, according to a local police officer.In December delegates of the Yemeni national dialogue agreed on a road-map to resolve the southern issue and form a six-region federal state.But members of the southern issue sub-committee at the national dialogue conference and some southern delegates of the Socialist Party refused to sign and rejected the road-map deal.

North and South Yemen unified peacefully in 1990, but their relationship deteriorated in 1994. Calls for separation in the country's southern regions were renewed in 2007.The southerners have been complaining of being marginalized, particularly since they lost a four-month civil war in 1994.Pro-secession protests are on the rise in the south amid a worsening economic situation and allegations of discrimination in favor of the northerners.Concerns have grown since the conflicts in south Yemen are creating instability where al-Qaida could gain foothold.