Why Yemen may not be heading for a split
Have southern Yemeni rebel leaders forfeited their quest to secede in exchange for positions of power or are they building political strength and biding their time?
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi won over two prominent secessionist leaders by giving them positions of power in the current government. In doing so, he redirected rebel interests to align with his fight against the Houthis and his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In return for renouncing their secession demands, in December Hadi appointed Aidroos al-Zubaidi governor of Aden, the administration's temporary capital, and named Gen. Shallal Ali Shayae police chief of Aden. The high-caliber leaders of the Southern Mobility Movement (SMM), one of the most active forces in south Yemen, had been demanding secession since 2007.
The SMM leaders' participation in Hadi's government brought the idea of a federal regime to the forefront. But the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels’ attempt to control state institutions by force hampered all steps toward implementing this option. This solidified a large section of southerners to adapt by abandoning the demand of disengagement with the north to support Hadi’s regime. The southerners, most notably the SMM, strengthened their political alliances with Hadi supporters to create an axis in the southern arena to help support a new approach to Yemeni unity.
However, Hadi's decision to give the SMM positions of power was criticized in the north as setting the foundation for a progressive independence of the southern regions. But the move helped Hadi restructure the security and military institutions in the south, while also maintaining the north's antagonism toward the Houthis.
