THOUSANDS of Yemenis rallied in the southern city of Aden on Saturday in support of a separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates.

The demonstration came a day after the group had dissolved itself, following clashes with forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council assembled in their stronghold of Khor Maksar district, where Aden’s international airport is located. Armed groups loyal to the STC reportedly secured the protest area.

The protesters chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni international government. They waved flags of southern Yemen, which was independent from 1967-90. 

Some held posters showing the council’s leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who fled Aden to the UAE earlier this month, according to footage aired by media linked to STC.

Protester Fadl Mahomed said: “We will remain in the squares until the restoration of the state of South Arabia,” referring to the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, which the formal name of the state until its 1990 unification with northern Yemen.

Former foreign minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi, who serves as an adviser to the chairman of the presidential council, wrote on social media: “The page of the transitional council has been turned, because of its mistakes, corruption, arrogance and its use of force against the state and people of the south.”