South Yemen .. Why supporters rose to Abu Dhabi attack on Riyadh?

Al Jazeera Net - Private

An unusual attack by the loyalists of the UAE in Yemen against Saudi Arabia, hours after the publication of the channel "Arab" news of a dispute between the Houthis and allies in the southern movement calling for the separation of southern Yemen from the north.

The channel spoke of the resignation of Nasser Baqzkuz, Minister of Tourism in the government of the Houthis (not recognized) belonging to the southern movement, and attributed his resignation to the disintegration of the alliance between the Houthis and the southern movement.

But the news angered the loyalists of the so-called "Southern Transition Council" established by the UAE and its pro-government, where the Council believes that it has the exclusive right to represent southerners, and that no other faction should speak on behalf of the south.

Since the start of the activities of the southern movement against the regime of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2007, formed a number of currents and southern forces, with different dimensions and directions and goals, sometimes reaching a clash between them.

Saudi Arabia stabs
However, the UAE loyalists launched a campaign against Saudi Arabia, Al-Arabiya TV, and its editor-in-chief, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, and chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia to challenge the South, accusing the channel and its editor of belonging to the Brotherhood.

The most prominent response was written by Hani bin Brik, vice president of the South Transitional Council - which owes absolute allegiance to the UAE - where he called on Saudi Arabia to address the matter "to the Saudis, the few who have influence in the media."

Most pro-Emirati political activists agreed that the channel sought to implement the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood, to renounce the legitimacy of the Southern Transitional Council as the sole representative of the southerners, and that any other component had no legitimacy.

"Without it, the Saudi-UAE alliance would not have defeated the Iranian-backed Huthi militias, nor would it have broken the influence of Iranian expansion towards Bab al-Mandab and Aden," they said.

Although most of the attack was directed at the channel, others saw the channel as reflecting Saudi policy in southern Yemen, especially in recent times, with Saudi Arabia focusing its efforts on supporting the legitimate government.

Defending Riyadh
In the midst of the attack, others were defending Saudi Arabia's policy, accusing the loyalists of the UAE of being arrogant and denying. Saudi Arabia was the main reason for the Houthis' withdrawal from Aden in mid-2015 and most southern provinces.

"Those who attack Saudi Arabia have sold their conscience to the devil," wrote southern journalist Sami Haroubi, adding that these leaders abused the southern people and his cause and his peaceful movement to gain power with international funding led by Hani Ben Brik.

Al-Zubaidi said in a statement to the Al-Tariq newspaper in September 2014 that he had received support from Tehran. "When all the countries abandoned us, we looked to those who supported our revolution and Iran stood with us," he said.

Saudi - UAE variation
At a time when the UAE is in control of southern Yemen, observers believe that Saudi Arabia is not very much in agreement with it.

According to a military source in the forces loyal to the Yemeni government, the UAE has its agenda unlike Saudi Arabia. At a time when the UAE is acting as an occupying power, Riyadh's goal is not to end the threat of the Houthis.

He told Al-Jazeera Net that during a meeting with Emirati officers - he was present - an Emirati officer objected to the talk of a government officer when the latter began to clarify military operations agreed upon with the Saudi side. "The fighting was going on in the west coast, and then we realized the differences between the two sides," he said.

The relationship between the "southern transition" - which stands behind the UAE on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia on the other - is tense during the recent period, where southern politicians accuse Riyadh of preventing the establishment of a southern state.

The latest incident in the claim of the Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber - in an interview with the network of IRIN - southerners to participate in a government of national unity, considering that the southern issue complex.

Riyadh believes that the solution lies in supporting the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and during the past two weeks intensified efforts to resume the meetings of the House of Representatives in Aden, which angered the loyalists of the UAE.

It was not the first
"The situation that emerged through the Saudi media and Al-Arabiya channel against the UAE-backed Southern Movement Militias is not new and it was not the first of its kind," said Abdul Raqeeb al-Hudaiani, deputy editor of the government's October 14 newspaper.

Al-Hudaiani, a good observer of the situation in southern Yemen, said that there were previous positions and statements by the Saudi ambassador and the media, and the positions of those close to the decision-making circles that criticize the reality in Aden.

"Saudi Arabia sees the chaos in Aden as a source of concern," he said. "The UAE's support for some of the components of Yemen's separation is not acceptable, so it has resorted to warning that its recent history is still known."