Southern militants took arms on Saturday across several southern provinces, calling for retributions against Sana’a central government on the wake of the confirmed death of Sheikh Mohamed al-Rayami .
A powerful tribal leader, Sheikh al-Rayami was killed on Saturday when his booby-trapped vehicle exploded in the south-eastern province of al-Baydha. "Mohamed al-Rayami, a high-ranking tribal chief, was killed when a bomb exploded under his car in the main street in al-Bayda province," a local official told the press on condition of anonymity Saturday.
Two by-standers, both children were severely wounded in the blast.
The report of his death literally set Yemen’ southern territories alight, as secessionists militants understand the attack as proof that Sana’a would always act the colonial force over South Yemen, forever refusing to offer its leaders due respect and importance.
While this new attack against a high profile official is likely to have been the work of al-Qaeda, southern militants chose to unleash their wrath onto Sana’a central government. It is important to note that at this stage no group has yet admitted responsibility for the Sheikh’s death.
At a time when tensions are running ever higher for every day the NDC is delayed, Haraki militants (Southern Secessionist Movement) moved against northerners’ interests in the provinces of Hadhramawt and Aden where they targeted shops and businesses belonging to northerners.
Officials confirmed on Sunday that Saturday’s clashes forced several cities across the south had to be locked down, all local schools and public offices closed for security purposes.
“Four Southern Movement militants and two policemen were wounded in an armed clash in Ataq, capital of Shabwa province,” police told reporters. In Hadhramawt, three soldiers were killed and several others severely wounded when armed tribesmen targeted a military outpost near al-Qotn.
In Aden, residents in Crater confirmed that armed men attempted Saturday to take over the local police station.
While today order has been more or less restored; intermittent clashed have been reported in Aden and across the southern province of Hadhramawt, underscoring the volatility of Yemen’ security situation.