The Southern Transitional Council faces an uncertain future amid internal divisions over plans to deport its leader.
Published on January 10, 2026
Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets in Aden to show support Southern Transitional Council (STC) Amid conflicting reports about alleged plans to disband after deadly clashes with Saudi Arabia-backed forces.
STC supporters chanted slogans against the internationally backed government of Saudi Arabia and Yemen during Saturday’s demonstrations in Aden’s Khor Maksar district, one of the group’s strongholds.
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The crowd waved the flag of the former South Yemen, which was an independent state between 1967 and 1990.
“Today, southerners have gathered in the capital, Aden, from all provinces, to repeat what they have been saying consistently for years and for the past month: we want an independent state,” protester Yaqub al-Safayani told the AFP news agency.
A public show of solidarity came after the success Saudi-backed offensive to drive the STC out of parts of southern and eastern Yemen that they captured late last year.
The clashes have heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which Saudi officials accuse of supporting the STC.
The group had taken control of the Hadramout province bordering Saudi Arabia and Al-Mahra, a territory representing about half of the country.
After weeks of Saudi-led efforts, Yemeni government forces, backed by Gulf states, attacked the STC and drove the separatists out of the presidential palace in Aden and military camps in al-Mahara.
On Friday, the STC delegation that went to Riyadh for talks Announcing the dissolution A clear admission of defeat in the group.
Secretary-General Abdulrahman Jalal al-Sebaihi said the group would close all institutions and offices inside and outside Yemen, citing internal dissension and growing regional pressure.
However, STC spokesman Anwar al-Tamimi opposed the decision and wrote on X that only the full council could take such steps under its chairmanship – highlighting internal divisions within the separatist movement.
During Saturday’s protest in Aden, STC supporters held up posters of the group’s leader Idaras al-ZubaidiIt was smuggled into the UAE from Aden this week after talks in the Saudi capital failed.
Saudi-backed forces The UAE has accused him of helping him escape from a flight to a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
Authorities in Aden, aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, ordered a ban on demonstrations in the southern city on Friday, citing security concerns, according to an official directive seen by Reuters.