The south rises

摘要

WHEN IT INTERVENED in Yemen's civil war, Saudi Arabia hoped to make quick work of the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group that had swept down from the northern highlands to seize the capital, Sana'a. Five years later the Houthis are still in control-and Saudi Arabia cannot even corral its own allies. One is the government, which the Saudis are trying to restore. Another is the Southern Transitional Council (stc), a separatist group, which declared "self-administration" in southern Yemen on April 25th. Exactly what the council meant is unclear. Fighters seized government offices, including the central bank, and drove through the streets waving the flag of South Yemen, a sovereign state until 1990. But the governors of several nearby provinces, including Hadramawt, the south's largest, rejected the idea of renewed autonomy. The stc's declaration will probably spark more infighting among erstwhile partners.