Thousands rally for south Yemen independence

ADEN: Thousands demonstrated in south Yemen’s main city Aden on Saturday to demand a return to independence a day after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said only autonomy was on the table.
The rally in Aden’s central Parade Square came as southerners marked the anniversary of the end of British colonial rule in 1967, which created an independent state that lasted until union with the north in 1990.
Demonstrators waved southern flags and banners proclaiming: “Yes to Freedom and Independence,” and: “Our Goal is the Reclamation of Statehood.”
Security forces set up checkpoints across the city and on its outskirts to control the large number of demonstrators traveling in from adjacent provinces, but kept their distance from the rally itself.