Yemen PM warns against Southern Council rally  

Yemen’s prime minister warned Southern Council leaders against violence in a rally which is due to take place on Friday, the Washington Post reported.

Ahmed Abu Dager warned that any rally will directly challenge the recognised government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and ultimately serve the interests of the Houthi armed group.

The rally is being organised to call for an independent southern Yemen.

Tweets by Southern Transitional Council leader, Ahmed Bin Fareed, show a Hirak movement spokesperson calling for the rally.

كنا ولازلنا وسنبقى دعاة للسلم والسلام نابذين للعنف بكل أشكاله وهذه رسالتنا للعالم عبر الاخ رئيس المجلس الجنوبي في دعوته للاحتشاد يوم ٧/ ٧ pic.twitter.com/Gm1guiUMGh

— أحمد عمر بن فريد (@AhmedBinFareed1) July 4, 2017

The Southern Transitional Council takes the Houthi group as an adversary, and has frequent military confrontations with the group in the south of Yemen. The Houthi armed group is advancing towards the south of Yemen, taking swathes of territory in to its control.