ADEN: Tens of
thousands of Yemenis rallied in Aden yesterday in support of separatist forces
who took over the southern port, the temporary seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed
government, in a move that exposed rifts in a Sunni Muslim military coalition.
The United Arab Emirates-backed southern separatists seized control of
government military bases last weekend, fracturing the Saudi-led alliance
battling the Iran-aligned Houthi group and complicating UN peace efforts to end
the war. "There is no daylight between the UAE and Saudi Arabia when it
comes to Yemen. We are completely aligned," a UAE official said in a
statement.

"We remain
deeply concerned over the situation in Aden, and the coalition's engagement
on-the-ground is evolving with the aim of establishing conditions for
stability, security and peace," the official added. Demonstrators demanded
recognition of southerners' right to self-rule in Aden, where the government of
Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is based after being ousted from power in the capital
Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014.

Many travelled
into Aden from other southern provinces on Wednesday, sleeping overnight in the
central parade square. One man held up a battered old identity document from
former South Yemen and many waved the South Yemen flag. "We call on the
international community and the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE
to respect the southern people as a key partner in stemming the Persian tide in
the region and fighting terrorism to achieve...regional and global
stability," said a statement to mark the rally.

The separatists
are a major component of the Western-backed alliance that intervened in Yemen
against the Houthis in March 2015, but have a rival agenda to Hadi's
government. The war has revived old strains between north and south Yemen,
formerly separate countries that united into a single state in 1990. The rally
statement, issued by civil society groups and unions, accused Hadi's government
of mismanagement, saying it had become "a guillotine at Yemenis'
necks". The Southern Transitional Council (STC) took over Aden after
accusing the Islah party allied to Hadi of being complicit in a Houthi missile
attack on southern forces earlier this month, a charge the party denies.

Political
settlement

A local official
told Reuters that separatist forces had moved away from the nearly empty
presidential palace and central bank. There was no sign yet they had quit the
military camps. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said a Saudi-UAE team arrived in Aden
yesterday. An STC spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday they would keep control
unless the Islamist Islah, seen by the UAE as an offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood, and northerners were removed from positions of power in the south.

Hadi's government
has called the move a "coup". The UAE has echoed a Saudi call for
dialogue to exit the crisis but did not call on southern forces it funds and
arms to cede control. The UAE official said Abu Dhabi and Riyadh continue to
call on all parties to meet to discuss a political settlement. Riyadh wants to
host a summit to resolve matters. Hadi's government said it would not
participate until STC forces withdraw and asked Abu Dhabi to stop backing them.

The UAE, Saudi
Arabia's main military ally on the ground for most of the war, has scaled back
its presence in Yemen since June amid Western pressure to end the war that has
killed tens of thousands and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. It said it
will continue to back some 90,000 Yemeni forces made up of southern separatists
and coastal plain fighters. The war is largely seen in the region as a proxy
war between Saudi Arabia and Tehran. The Houthis say their revolution is
against a corrupt system.

The UAE pull-back
and the Aden crisis come as the United Nations tries to reduce tensions
throughout the country to pave the way for peace talks. The Houthis, who
control Sanaa and most big urban centers, point to Aden as proof that Hadi is
unfit to rule and cannot be a serious partner in any negotiations. "We
respect the masses gathered in our beloved south today. Anyone who does not
respect the multitudes in the north and south who reject Hadi and his followers
must be sick and deranged," Houthi deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Azzi
tweeted.- Reuters