Houthis Fault Southern Secessionists for Power-Sharing Impasse

Every good power-sharing negotiation needs a good scapegoat, and the Yemeni negotiations seems to have found one in the southern secessionist movement, which the northern Houthi rebels are blaming for the stalemate.

There are ongoing efforts by various factions in Sanaa to secure some sort of power-sharing deal, with the Houthis urging everyone along, so long as it is favorable to them. Yet the Aden-based south is not going along with the deal.

That’s because there’s been a separatist movement in the south or decades, violently tamped down by Presidents Saleh and Hadi, and with Hadi’s resignation, they are looking to use the opportunity to assert themselves.

With the talks in Sanaa centering on how to split up power among the different factions in the capital, a secession was not part of their plans. Yet separatists have been trying to break South Yemen back off since the 1994 civil war, and aren’t going to let this chance slip past them without a serious effort.