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YEMENI authorities in five southern provinces rejected an independence group’s claim to self-governance today.
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared a state of emergency overnight and said that it would govern the southern port of Aden and other surrounding provinces, accusing the Saudi-backed government of corruption and mismanagement.
Security forces and armoured vehicles were seen around the headquarters of Yemen's Central Bank (YCB) and near the city's sole airport as well as the seaport.
The STC said in a statement: “The decision to control and self-govern the country’s southern provinces came in light of the failure, mismanagement and rampant corruption practiced by the Yemeni government, which practiced the policy of subjugation and starvation of the people."
Aden has been under the control of the STC since last August. It seeks independence for the former socialist state of South Yemen.
But in a joint statement, local and security authorities in the provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra called the move a “clear and definite coup.”
Other provinces issued their own statements to condemn the move.
Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs called the move a continuation of the rebellion led by the STC in August 2018, and it’s considered a full withdrawal from the Riyadh Agreement.
“The STC only will be held responsible for the serious consequences for its declaration,” Mr Mohmmed Al Hadrami said.
The move came amid demonstrations in Aden against President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and what protesters deem to be a government failure in dealing with the devastating effects of recent rains and floods that have left dozens of people missing, homeless or dead.