Clashes reported in south Yemen on Monday between security forces and southern separatists. According to Reuters, eyewitnesses said shelling and gunfire continued for over an hour in the town of Zinjabar in Abyan province on Monday around the house of a relative of Tareq al-Fadhli, a leading figure in an opposition group called the "Southern Movement".
It was the first report of violence in the south in over a month after several clashes earlier this year which resulted in deaths. Southerners say they have been marginalised politically and economically since unification in 1990.
Former leader of the south Yemeni republic Ali Salem al-Beidh, in exile in Germany, addressed a rally of southern separatists by telephone earlier this month to annouce solidarity with the northern rebels who have taken up arms against Sanaa.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
