ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Thousands of Yemenis rallied Saturday in the southern city of Aden in a show of support for a separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates, a day after it dissolved itself following clashes with forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council assembled in their stronghold of Khor Maksar district, where Aden’s international airport is located. Armed groups loyal to the STC secured the protest area, according to an Associated Press journalist in Khor Maksar.

The protesters chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni international government. They waved flags of southern Yemen, which was an independent state between 1967 and 1990. Some held posters showing the council’s leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who fled Aden to the UAE earlier this month, according to footage aired by STC media.

The protest organizers said in a statement that they rejected the dissolution of the STC and called for the establishment of an independent state in southern Yemen.