Yemeni forces clash with Southern separatists

Clashes broke out in south Yemen on Monday between security forces and southern separatists, while the leader of a northern revolt accused the central government of marginalising Shi'ite Muslims. The United States and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter, fear the opposition to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule in the north and south could play into the hands of al Qaeda, which has staged a comeback with attacks on government and foreign targets over the past two years. Witnesses said shelling and gunfire continued for over an hour in the town of Zinjabar in Abyan province on Monday around the house of a relative of Tareq al-Fadhli, a leading figure in an opposition grouping called the "Southern Movement". It was the first report of violence in the south in over a month after several clashes earlier this year which resulted in deaths. Southerners say they have been marginalised politically and economically since unification in 1990.