STC calls for another ‘coup’ in Aden against Saudi-backed Yemen gov’t

The UAE-backed secessionist movement, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), announced yesterday an official coup against the Saudi-supported, internationally-recognised Yemeni government headed by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), of which the STC is a sitting member.

The PLC was established in 2022, after Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi ceded his executive powers to the council.

According to the Sanaa-based Yemen Press Agency, the STC reportedly made the announcement yesterday during a meeting, which saw the General Secretariat call for a formation of a “government of competencies that contribute to improving the economic and service situation,” referencing the current government cabinet led by Prime Minister Moeen Abdulmalik and the deteriorating situation in the south.

The STC secretariat rejected the return of the unity government to Aden, which serves as the interim capital, accusing it of carrying out crimes against the people of the southern provinces.

Founded in 2017, the STC is a formidable party with an affiliated militia that controls significant territory in southern Yemen. This includes Aden, which was first seized in 2019 by the STC as well as the strategically important island of Socotra and the oil-rich Shabwa region.

The PLC led by Rashad Al-Alimi and with Aidaroos Al-Zubeidi, the head of the STC, as second in command, was formed with the support of Saudi Arabia in an attempt to salvage the faltering Riyadh Agreement. The 2019 accord aimed to bring together the STC and the government under then-President Hadi in a power-sharing arrangement.

However, militia loyal to the Saudi-backed government and those of the STC frequently engage in armed clashes while assassinations are also common.

Yemen: Saudi Arabia to form council to run Aden, counter STC