Just as Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa was announcing that his Cabinet had authorized the establishment of a special committee which sole task will be to rights some of the wrongs the former regime inflicted on southerners and residents of the northern province of Sa'ada during its tenure, South Yemen rose in protest, calling for a break from the central government.
Days after former South Yemen President Ali Salem al-Baidh called for civil disobedience, Yemen southern provinces joined together as one in mass protests, in a fashion reminiscent of the early days of the Arab Spring.
Al-Baidh a man who has always rejected and denounced the National Dialogue Conference on the basis that negotiations would only take place once South Yemen is return to its former state of independence; defiantly told reporters earlier this week that South Yemen would refuse any deal which does not include secession.
In Aden, the former capital city of South Yemen, protesters set the tone, erecting barricades and chanting anti-government slogans under the watchful eye of Yemen security apparatus.
Ever since Washington warned of an imminent terror attack in Yemen, the authorities have increased security throughout the country, especially in its southern territories where al-Qaeda is believed to have established several active cells.
Fear of more violence has gripped state officials at a time when the coalition government is hoping to swiftly usher the country into its last and ever sensitive stage, the adoption of a new constitution.