Yemen's Saleh warns separatists but offers talks

Yemen's president warned southern separatists who demand the independence of the south that they will be defeated, but also offered to engage in dialogue over their demands, state media said Tuesday.

"The separatist flags are going to burn in the coming days and weeks," President Ali Abdullah Saleh told top military ranks Monday, according to defense ministry news website 26Sep.net.

Saleh spoke after security forces cracked down on activists of the separatist movement in several southern towns that were part of the former South Yemen.

North and South Yemen united in 1990 but many in the south -- home to most of Yemen's oil facilities -- complain northerners have seized resources and discriminate against them, and violence in the south has escalated in recent weeks.

But the Yemeni leader offered to talk to the secessionists about their political demands. Southerners complain of economic and social discrimination at the hands of the northern-controlled government.

"If there are any political demands, they are welcome. Come to dialogue," he said.

"Now, we are going to form local committees to talk to these forces, if they accept dialogue," he added, stressing that "real demands" will be welcome.

"We reject the spreading of the culture of hate, racism, and regionalism," he added.

Pro-independence protests have multiplied in the south amid Yemen's worsening economic situation.

Now, we are going to form local committees to talk to these forces, if they accept dialogue

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Yemen became a major Western security concern after the Yemen-based regional arm of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.

Yemen agreed a truce with northern rebels last month to end a separate conflict there that had drawn in neighboring oil exporter Saudi Arabia. The truce followed international pressure on Yemen to focus on a bigger global threat: al-Qaeda.

Since that truce began, violence in the north has faded while clashes in the south escalated. Analysts say Sanaa is also using al-Qaeda battle cry to turn its sights on other domestic opponents.

Western allies and Saudi Arabia fear al-Qaeda is exploiting instability in Yemen, where 42 percent of the country's 23 million people live in poverty, to recruit and train militants for attacks in the region and beyond.