Although the violence has been blamed on elements within the southern secessionist movement, leaders of the group maintain that their aims of independence are to be achieved through peaceful means, and claim that attacks are from ordinary citizens in response to the government's provocative actions.

The insurgency has occasionally been linked by the Yemeni government to Islamist groups, including ex-military commanders and South-Yemeni tribes.

South Yemen is home to several jihadist movements, some of which are believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, most notably a group called the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army.

[citation needed] As a response to such accusations, Tariq al-Fadhli - one of the leaders of the southern movement - posted a video of himself on YouTube raising the American flag with the national anthem over his compound in an attempt to openly distance himself from Al-Qaeda.

[9] The southern movement, like the Houthis rejected a GCC brokered deal between the GPC and Al-Islah and boycotted the February 21, 2012 presidential election leaving Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as only candidate.