Yemen\'s southern factions want dialogue but unity is over

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi approved the conference During a Conference held in Aden, South Yemen on Sunday, factions of the Yemeni opposition in the south announced their commitment to restoring a separate southern state. They vowed at the National Congress for the People of the South, a conference attended by 1,500 delegates and headed by Yemeni political leader Mohammed Ali Ahmed, to continue their struggle for independence. Reaching a consensus they agreed that political unity, forged with the north in 1990, has come to an end. The delegates then agreed to lay the foundations for restoring the State of South Yemen along the borders of 1990, and declare its unity with north Yemen illegal and invalid since 1994.
Informed sources in the southern movement told Arabstoday that Mohammed Ali Ahmed undertook the conference after receiving the green light from Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. It is thought that his participation will enable Ali Ahmed to acquire the 85 seats dedicated in government for the Southern Movement, rendering factions led by Al-Beidh  illegitimate. However southern oppositions loyal to Al-Beidh issued a statement announcing their boycott of the conference, which closes on Monday, describing it as \"defeatist, hasty and incomplete.\"
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses claimed that hundreds of opponents of the conference besieged the hotel during the opening ceremony, waving flags bearing the Democratic Republic of Yemen and chanting slogans emphasizing independence and the rejection of what they called \"the northern occupation.\"