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| Arabia |
| Ex-governor defies Hadi, forms autonomous body in Aden |
| 2017-05-12 |
| [Iran Press TV] Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's governor for Yemen's port city of Aden, recently fired by the Saudi-backed former president, has launched an autonomous body to manage the war-wracked country's south. Maj. Gen. Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who has fallen out with Hadi but is close to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), formed the new "transitional political council of the south" on Thursday. The new council is made up of 26 members, including the governors of five southern provinces and two Hadi ministers. The sacked governor said the new council would "manage the provinces of the south and represent (them) domestically and internationally". Hadi dismissed his governor for Aden and his state minister Hani bin Breik on April 27 over their alleged close ties with the United Arab Emirates. In a recent interview with Middle East Eye online news portal, Hadi accused the UAE of acting "like an occupation power in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... rather than a force of liberation." The two men are also believed to be close to southern independence activists. The move was a new blow to Hadi's efforts to keep together loyalists and reflected divisions among his supporters. Hadi has relied heavily on the militia recruited in the south, where separatist sentiments run deep. The announcement on the formation of the council also comes days after thousands of people held a demonstration in Aden to denounce the sacking of bigwigs by Hadi. |
| Posted by:Fred |