A day before Yemen marked the 23rd anniversary of the unification of north and south to form today's Republic of Yemen, thousands gathered in South Yemen in support of independence for the region once more. The country of Yemen was formerly two separate states, the Yemen Arab Republic (formerly known as North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (formerly known as South Yemen). But after a long and arduous effort from both sides, the two were joined on May 22, 1990 into the Republic of Yemen. But that unity was jeopardized a couple of years later when power struggles and economic marginalization of the south prompted the region to demand its secession. A bloody civil war erupted in 1994, with the north overtaking the south, where most of the fighting took place, after three months. An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people were killed in the conflict, and land in the south was confiscated by the north. The separatist sentiment remains popular in the south, and so May 22 has become a thorny date for the country. Some in the south celebrate May 21 instead, which marks the day southern leaders called for independence from the north 19 years ago. Southern Yemen rallies on May 21, 2013 in Aden calling for separation from the North. Photo shared by Twitter user @NajiAlkaladi Protesters this year in the major southern city of Aden chanted slogans calling for secession and waved the flag of their former republic. Journalist Nasser Arrabyee (@narrabyee) commented on the stark split between north and south during those two days in May: ‏@narrabyee: South Yemen celebrates angrily the 19th anniversary of disunity, north celebrates 23rd anni of unity, chaos in both! Hussain Al-Yafai (@crazyyafai), a Yemeni student who lives between the US and Yemen, tweeted a photo of the march and explained the south's reasons for independence: @crazyyafai: South Yemenis want separation from the North because 23 years of unity have done nothing but failure for both sides. #SouthYemen #Yemen Meanwhile, there were no unification celebrations nor the customary parade in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa this year. President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi commemorated the day of Yemen's Unification with a formal address stressing the importance of the date. Twitter account Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) quoted from Hadi's speech: @yemen_updates: Prz Hadi, in his May 22 anniversary speech says, “The national dialogue is set to fix the past mistakes associated with the national unity.” Many Yemenis and especially southerners have criticized Hadi, who is from the southern province of Abyan, for failing to take any concrete action to salvage Yemen's unity in the face of the separatist mood in the south. Summer Nasser (@SummerNasser), a youth activist and student based in New York, criticized the president's attitude toward the south: @SummerNasser: If Pres. Hadi cares about the unity of our country, he shouldn't turn a blind eye to the South. Simple as that. #Yemen Map showing North Yemen (in orange) and South Yemen (in blue) before 1990. Image shared by Twitter user @Droodkin Faisal Al Yafai (@FaisalAlYafai), a writer and columnist, tweeted a link to his latest article, published in the English-language news website The National based in the United Arab Emerites, with a piece of advice for Hadi: @FaisalAlYafai: If Hadi wants #Yemen to remain whole, he must take the possibility of southern secession seriously http://bit.ly/16EMKGQ In the article, he argued that Hadi's lack of leadership was making the situation worse: At the end of last year, Mr Hadi set up a tribunal to address some of the issues of reinstatement, promising to return to southerners property seized after the 1994 civil war. But it has moved slowly, while other events – such as drone strikes by the United States – continue to inflame the south. By not making a genuine effort to fix legitimate grievances of southerners, Mr Hadi is making his task of steering Yemen through this political transition harder He finally warned: Whether Mr Hadi can make such an offer – and whether he can find anyone in the south to listen, agree and deliver the deal – remains an open question. But Mr Hadi is running out of time. Whereas at the beginning of the year, he might have found factions within [southern movement] Hirak open to dialogue on greater inclusion in a Sanaa government, now public sentiment is hardening, moving towards autonomy and more.