Could Yemen Partition?

YemenExtra

By Vincent Lofaso

Yemen has further split with Aden under the control of southern separatist movements. Fighting broke out after the government ignored a separatist demand for the Prime Minister and his cabinet to be dismissed. Ahmed bin Daghr was widely blamed for food shortages in the region, and this is also a major blow for Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is already in Ryadh.

The government of resigned Hadi is backed by the airpower of the Saudi-led coalition. But now, Aden is in the hands of another faction, southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates.

South Yemen was an independent country until 1990 and a nationalist sentiment there remains strong. Al-Qaeda and other armed groups like DAESH are also active in the region holding pockets of territory in the north and south of the country.

The separatists are loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and want the restoration of an independent south. The STC was formed in May 2017 by the former Governor of Aden, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, who was ousted by the Hadi government over accusations of loyalty. Until recently, the government and the STC had been united against a common enemy, namely the Houthis, but the developments in Aden could represent a new split in the already fractured country.

The situation in Aden has been escalating for two years between the presidential forces, back by Saudi Arabia and the STC backed by the United Arab Emirates, who have overlapping control over the area. However, coordination and merging the two factions together have failed.

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