ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-backed Yemeni government vowed on Saturday to prevent anti-corruption demonstrations planned to be organized by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the southern port city of Aden.
The Yemeni Interior Ministry threatened to use force against any gatherings, marches or protests that may call for dissolving the internationally-backed government.
The announcement came just one day before the deadline the Southern Resistance Forces set for Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to sack his Aden-based government.
The STC accuses the Hadi government of rampant corruption resulting in "deteriorating economic, security and social situation never before witnessed in the history of the south."
They also say the Hadi government targets southerners as the enemy rather than the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels in Sanaa.
Despite the government warning, thousands of people in the southern provinces have started their marches toward Aden to participate in the anti-corruption uprising in the port city.
The newly-recruited southern forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates, promised to provide complete armed protection for protesters in Aden and elsewhere in southern Yemen.
Both the Saudi-backed government and the STC have tightened security measures such as deploying snipers on high buildings.
Sources told Xinhua that several members of Hadi's Presidential Guard Forces have switched their allegiance to the STC-allied forces in Aden.
Earlier in the day, Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr held a meeting with leaders of the Saudi-led Arab coalition operating in Aden and discussed the latest developments in the city.
Sources said the prime minister asked the coalition "to intervene and abort the anti-government protests that may cause further instability or create more chaos."
Observers say the internationally-backed government of Yemen is facing "an increasing public resentment after accusations of corruption and embezzlement," in fear of armed confrontations.
During a meeting attended by several military leaders in Aden last Sunday, Maj. Gen. Aidarous Zubaidi, the president of the STC, vowed to overthrow the government, threatening to prevent the sessions of the parliament in Aden and elsewhere in southern Yemen.
The Yemeni government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country for about three years.
The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Hadi and his government to the power.
UN statistics show more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around 3 million others.
The Arab country is also suffering from the world's largest cholera epidemic since last April, with about 5,000 cases reported everyday.
