Yemen’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, denied on Saturday it was disbanding, contradicting a statement by one of its members that the group had decided to dissolve itself.
– The conflicting statements highlight a split in the STC.
– Saudi Arabia and the UAE used to work together in a coalition battling Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war but the STC advances exposed their rivalry, bringing into focus big differences on a wide range of issues across the Middle East ranging from geopolitics to oil output.
– Saudi-backed fighters have largely retaken the areas of southern and eastern Yemen that the STC seized, and an STC delegation has travelled to the Saudi capital Riyadh for talks.
– STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi skipped the planned meetings and fled Yemen on Wednesday,
– The Saudi-led coalition accused the UAE of helping him escape on a flight that was tracked to a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
– In an announcement broadcast on Saudi state media on Friday, one of the group’s members said the STC had decided to disband.
– The STC said it had held an “extraordinary meeting” following the announcement in Riyadh and declared it “null and void”, saying it had been made “under coercion and pressure”.
– The group also said its members in Riyadh had been detained and were being “forced to issue statements”.
– The STC reiterated calls for mass protests in southern cities on Saturday, warning against any attempts that target the group’s “peaceful activities”.
– Authorities in Aden that are aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government on Friday ordered a ban on demonstrations in the southern city, citing security concerns.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-main-separatist-group-denies-disbanding-2026-01-10