Major shift in Yemen as Southern Transitional Council consolidates power

ADEN

Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), claimed sweeping control over the country’s south, signalling a significant shift in regional power.

Amr al-Bidh, a senior STC official, said on Monday that the group had expanded its presence to all southern provinces, including the strategic port city of Aden, long the seat of the internationally-recognised government, following a military operation last week codenamed Promising Future.

“The eight southern governorates are under the protection of the Southern Armed Forces,” Bidh said in a text message.

“We are concentrating on unifying the operational theatre of our armed forces to enhance coordination and readiness to reinforce stability and security in the south, as well as combating the Houthis should there be a willingness to head in this direction.”

The STC’s advance represents a major realignment of control in southern Yemen. The group has long campaigned for greater autonomy in the south, which existed as an independent state until unification with the north in 1990.

According to the STC, senior figures from other political groups have left Aden, including the head of the eight-member body acting as president and the prime minister.

The STC has clashed repeatedly with other factions in the internationally-recognised government, which moved to Aden after the Iran-aligned Houthis captured Sana’a in 2014.

Since 2022, the STC has participated in an administration controlling southern areas outside Houthi control, under a Saudi-backed power-sharing arrangement.

Presidential Council head Rashad al-Alimi, who briefed diplomats in Riyadh on Sunday, said on Monday that the STC’s moves across the south “undermine the legitimacy of the internationally-recognised government” and violate power-sharing agreements.