Yemen's internationally recognised government has warned of chaos that could affect the country's security and unity as well as the safety of the people after the southern transitional council called for an uprising in the south.
At a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh where it has been staying since 2015, the government urged the council to engage in political work and to drop non-state military and security formations, pro-government Saba news agency reported.
Moreover, it urged all factions to come back to the political process instead of calling for chaos that will harm everyone without exceptions.
The UAE-backed council on Wednesday called for a popular uprising against the government's policies of starvation and failure to address deepening crises.
It asked southern military and security forces to be alert in order to protect people and to take over government institutions amid public rage over the sharp depreciation of the national currency.
The Yemeni rial has fallen by more than 300% against major currencies. It is trading at around 800 to the US dollar, down from 215 before the breakout of the war in late 2014.
Protests have been staged in several Yemeni cities against the inaction of the government to address the currency depreciation.
The government called on all people to refuse chaos, partition and division calls and to stick to the Gulf Initiative for power transfer, the outcomes of the national dialog conference and the UN resolution 2216, according to Saba.
The interior ministry also urged people not to respond to suspicious calls that the council has absurdly made.
We will not stay passive towards acts of riots targeting the public institutions and the social peace, the ministry said, calling on the member states of a Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen to shoulder its responsibility to help secure and normalise the situation in regions liberated from the Houthis including the temporary capital Aden.
The coalition has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 to restore the government.
