Southern Transitional Council | Yemen’s separatists

On January 3, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen announced a new Constitution for the “State of South Arabia”.

Nearly a decade since its formation, the STC appears closer than ever to achieving its goal of a separate southern Yemen, — or “South Arabia” as it calls the region — independent from the North. However, the subsequent days revealed the group’s struggle to maintain its gains.

The STC credits its emergence to the pre-Arab Spring movement in southern Yemen known as “Al-Hirak al-Janoubi”, or “Hirak”, which led demonstrations demanding autonomy from the Ali Abdullah Saleh-led north.

A key figure among them was Aidarous Qassem al-Zubaidi, who, with the support from the UAE, was successful in countering Houthi advancement in Al Dhale and Lahij in 2015. The UAE, subsequently, persuaded then-President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to appoint Mr. al-Zubaidi as Governor of Aden.

Over the next two years, however, Mr. al-Zubaidi and Mr. Hadi clashed on several occasions. Tensions reached breaking point over control of Aden’s airport in February 2017, prompting Mr. Hadi to sack him. Three months later, on May 11, 2017, Mr. al-Zubaidi announced the formation of a 26-member STC, with the goal of making “South Arabia” a geo-political reality.

Mr. al-Zubaidi moved quickly to legitimise the STC. He installed himself as the chair of the Presidium, and unified various UAE-backed armed groups under the “Southern Armed Forces”. This proved crucial in the STC’s eventual takeover of Aden’s presidential palace in 2019. Saudi Arabia subsequently brought Mr. al-Zubaidi and Mr. Hadi to the negotiating table for the Riyadh Agreement, which provided for the STC’s inclusion in the Yemeni government. Dissatisfied with the Agreement’s implementation, the STC recaptured Aden and declared self-rule in April 2020.

In 2022, after Mr. Hadi ceded power to the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the STC joined the body, with Mr. al-Zubaidi appointed as a Vice-President under Rashad al-Alimi. Barely a year later, with the Houthis launching attacks against Western vessels in the Red Sea, the STC reaffirmed its allegiance to the U.S-led anti-Houthi efforts.

On the domestic front, Mr. al-Zubaidi continued to work on increasing STC’s autonomy.

In September 2025, Mr. al-Zubaidi set the ball rolling with the announcement of 13 decrees that placed Southern leaders in various government positions, as the STC accused the PLC of “undermining the legitimate rights of the people of the South”. Later, in an interview, he ruled out any possibility of negotiations, and claimed that “the best solution for Yemen [against Houthis] and the best path to stability is the two-state solution”.

In December 2025, the STC launched Operation Promising Future and took over control of the Hadramout and Al-Mahra Governorates. The STC claimed that the operation was necessitated to liberate these regions from Houthis, al-Qaeda and ISIS. Hadramout’s conquest marked the biggest gain for STC yet, with the group now in control of 80% of the country’s oil reserves.

This, however, barely lasted a month with Saudi Arabia launching strikes first against STC positions and then targeting a UAE vessel it said was delivering more weapons to the group. On ground, Saudi-backed forces swiftly recaptured lost territories. The STC’s December actions deepened tensions between the Saudi and the Emirati governments. As Riyadh set about to host another dialogue to resolve the tensions, the STC found itself leaderless. Aden had fallen, Mr. al-Zubaidi was removed from the Presidential Council and declared a traitor, and as per Mr. Alimi had fled to the UAE.

Over the years, the STC fought to keep alive the possibility of a separate southern Yemen, but found it increasingly difficult to replicate the pre-1990 realities in 2026. Its reliance on the UAE and Yemen’s GCC-controlled government, for now, has kept the STC apart from “South Arabia”.