Ali Salim al-Beidh calls for secession

SANAA, Yemen, May 19 (UPI) -- Ali Salim al-Beidh, the southern leader of the Socialist Party and former vice-president of Yemen, called for southern secession in a televised address.

Al-Beidh told al-Jazeera journalists in an interview Friday that Yemen could no longer stay united after former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime allowed northerners to pillage South Yemen's resources, acting as a colonial force.

Al-Beidh who has been in exile since 1994 civil war said he was eager to return to his homeland and share his people's suffering and struggle.

Aden Online wrote al-Beidh was planning to make a comeback on the political arena and spur on the creation of a new southern independent state.