Politics Separatist organization STC in Yemen wants to disband
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the civil war country of Yemen, an influential separatist organization, has announced its dissolution.
09.01.2026, 15:40
SDA
Members of the STC and affiliated institutions agreed to dissolve the council, according to a statement read out on television. The council had not achieved its goals, it added.
The previous leader of the STC separatists, Aidarus al-Subaidi, is said to have fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the day before, according to information from Saudi Arabia. Allies of al-Subaidi called for mass protests on Saturday in response to the announcement to dissolve the council.
The STC is a separatist political organization in Yemen. The council was founded in 2017 with the support of the Emirates and wanted to enforce an independent South Yemen, as it existed between 1967 and 1990 before the two parts of the country were reunited.
Conference in Riyadh
In the civil war in Yemen, which has been ongoing since 2014, the STC and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government are actually allied in the fight against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control large parts of the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa. Recently, however, there have been increasing upheavals. While the UAE supports the separatists in Yemen and their demand for an independent south, Saudi Arabia stands by the Yemeni government and wants to preserve Yemen's unity.
The dissolution should pave the way for participation in a conference on the future of southern Yemen in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the council has now declared.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Chaled bin Salman praised the dissolution of the STC Council as a courageous decision and announced preparations for the planned conference in Saudi Arabia. It was not initially known when it would take place.
