gulfnews : Months of turmoil deal a heavy blow to fragile Yemen economy

The small gold shop of Saeed Al Amoudi has been closed for 52 days. His shop lies in Yemen's southern port city of Mukalla which is the epicentre of both the protests that seek the Yemen president's ouster and others who call for the secession of the southern Yemen state.

"As you can see, there is no gold on display. The shop has been closed for nearly two months because of fears of looting. We are afraid that the rallies may turn violent," he said.

Unlike in other cities where the southern secessionists are out of favour, in Mukalla they enjoy great leverage and organise mass protests.

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