Yemen govt warns against 'riots' after separatists call for uprising

The Southern Transitional Council, which wants the reinstatement of an independent south Yemen, issued the call for a "peaceful, popular uprising" in protest against inflation and poverty in the war-torn country. 

"All of southern Yemen is a disaster area thanks to the policies of the so-called legitimate government," read a statement released by the STC.

The separatists called on Saudi Arabia and its allies, which publicly support the president, to back their push for independence and find a "solution to the issue of the south".

In a statement released in response, the Yemeni government urged the "so-called transitional council to abandon any military or security plans that are not part of the legitimate government and turn instead to political work".

"Any rioting would only harm the security and unity of Yemen and its people... and benefit the Houthi coup-plotters and their Iranian allies," the statement said. 

Yemen's Saudi-backed government has battled northern Houthi rebels for four years. Southern Yemen is home to both the government and separatists, both of which were allies  until January.

The STC and Hadi have publicly disagreed on the future of Yemen since clashes erupted in Aden in January, when separatists allied with troops trained by the United Arab Emirates seized control of parts of the government bastion of Aden.

The STC, mainly based in Aden province, has since gained traction in its push for self-rule over the past year and regularly denounces the Saudi-backed government as corrupt. 

In recent weeks, Yemenis took to the streets of the southern city of Aden to protest against government corruption and rising living costs.

Thousands took to the streets calling out the Riyadh and Aden-based internationally-recognised government, over its failure to address key economic issues for ordinary Yemenis in areas under its control.

"From today, there is no more legitimacy," demonstrators chanted, while some blocked roads and burned tyres in the port city that has served as the headquarters for the Yemeni government since they were forced out of the capital Sanaa by Houthi rebels in 2014.

For more than a year, Yemen's government has been unable to pay salaries to workers.

War has also pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, with aid inaccessible to many parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the riyal has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition entered the war to back the government in its fight against Houthis.

The separatists have openly called for the reinstatement of north and south Yemen as independent states. The two were unified in 1990.

The Yemen war has triggered what the UN calls the world's largest single humanitarian crisis, with more than three-quarters of the population in need of aid and 8.4 million people at risk of famine.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in 2015 to support the government in its fight against the Houthis.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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