Protests continue in southern Yemen

SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Secessionists in southern Yemen have pledged further opposition to the central government, urging tribes in the south to join the effort.

The campaign by al-Harak, the Southern Secessionist Movement, began with Wednesday's national election, Bikyamasr.com reported. The group tried to block access to polling places.

Residents of the area around the port of Aden on the southern coast reported continued violence Thursday, Bikyamasr said. Al-Harak leaders asked tribes in the south to join the fight for secession.

The president-elect, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who ran unopposed, was born in southern Yemen. But many in the area see him as a traitor.

"As usual, the central government is taking decisions which will affect us without ever bothering to check if we agree. Enough is enough," one militant told Bikyamasr. "If we were willing to remain united in the Revolution we will not play the game of the regime. We want out of Yemen."

The secession movement comes in the wake of protests that forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office. North and South Yemen were united in 1990.