The port city of Aden was declared by Saudi-backed officials as the
“interim” capital of Yemen, but they’ve lost control of it in fighting over the last several days, leaving the city under the control of southern separatists.
Aden is much more important to the separatists not because of its status
as seat of the would-be government, but as the long-time capital of the
former country of South Yemen, which they intend to re-create.
This began last week with protesters loyal to the separatists seizing
the presidential palace. Over the weekend, after clashes at the palace,
separatist forces moved against military camps across the city. The government cried coup, but either way they lost the city.
This likely spells the end of the alliance of the two largest factions
in pro-Saudi Yemen, with the separatists having previously giving tacit
support to the invasion to reclaim the country from the northerners. But
the separatists always made clear that in the end they wanted their own
country, and may have just come a step closer to making that happen.
Yemen has four parts, not just two. Aden is one of those parts, that was British and protected by them using balancing off of the other three.
Even the traditional parts of Yemen are now split, with the ethnic and religious not exactly aligned with regional divides. So they split along all of them.
The Saudis have stepped into a hornet’s nest. It is a population as big as their own, so it is a very big hornet’s nest. It is right on their own border, yet a border on the far side of the Arabian Desert and so hard even for them to reach.
The Saudi’s foolishly woke and fed a monster. It is turning on them now.
This is good news for everybody. All of this trouble in Yemen stems from the basic fact that it never should have been forced into one country. Historically this has never been the case for that region. I hope the Houthis recognize this as the opportunity it is for their own long sought sovereignty as well as South Yemen’s. I don’t like the UAE’s involvement with the separatists, but if this splits them against the Saudis and further disintegrates the Gulf State alliance then I’m tempted to count it as a double win.
the Western neo-colonial powers always like it when they break up any strong/stronger nation into smaller state-lets, like north and south yemen….
probably the strategy here since the war against the Houthis/northern forces is going so badly, looks like they’d settle for the old north-south division again
in either case, the saudis are really screwed for the foreseeable future they will be attacked by the Houthis for years to come in retaliation for their massive war crimes against Yemen….. not saying this war is over with all these foreign powers involved but it’s inow looking for more like a north-south split is emerging