Local Editor
The former governor of Yemen's southern port city of Aden, recently sacked by Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi, said he formed a new "transitional political council of the south" after thousands of pro-secessionist Yemenis rallied in his support.
The ex-governor, Maj. Gen. Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has fallen out with the ousted Yemeni president who now resides in Riyadh but is close to the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen since 2015.
However, relations between Hadi and the UAE have been tense over allegations that the Emiratis are offering patronage to southern Yemeni politicians campaigning for secession and undermining Hadi’s authority over Aden.
The UEA has also fallen out with the Saudis over their support for Hadi as well as Riyadh’s approach to the quagmire in Yemen.
The new council, declared by al-Zubaidi at a speech in Aden, consists of 27 southern leaders including former Cabinet minister Hani Bin Braik, who had similar UAE-links and was also dismissed by Hadi.
The group does not, however, include prominent members of the Southern Movement, Yemen's decade-old separatist organization, actors who have political weight and influence needed in the region.
At last week's rally in Aden, thousands of southern separatists rallied in al-Zubaidi's defense, issuing a statement they said authorized him to form a political entity to represent southern Yemenis. The demonstrators declared the ex-governor's followers "legitimate representative of the people of the south" on regional and international levels.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman tried to intervene to calm tensions, meeting with Hadi last weekend to smooth things over between him and the UAE.
It's unclear if Salman made any progress.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
