Deep rifts in Yemen’s ruling body as STC says it now controls entire south

Southern faction accuses allies of failing to confront Houthis

Fighters loyal to Yemen's separatist STC. Divisions have risen to the surface in the anti-Houthi alliance in Yemen. EPA / File

The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is facing widening fractures, as the Southern Transitional Council (STC) said it has effectively taken control of all of south Yemen.

An STC source told The National that forces loyal to the group moved to secure the entire southern region after what he described as the failure of other pro-government factions “to launch” any serious campaign to push the Houthi rebels from their northern strongholds, including Sanaa.

On the opposite side of the political divide, PLC chief Rashad Al Alimi acknowledged from Riyadh that there were “major disagreements” within the ruling body. His remarks came after STC-aligned forces seized oilfields in Hadhramaut and mobilised to take control of key areas in Mahra from pro-government troops.

“What is happening in Aden is an extension of the struggle of the people of south Yemen, who have long demanded the restoration of their independent state,” the STC source said, referring to the former southern republic. The group has repeatedly signalled it intends to declare independence once conditions permit.

According to the source, the STC originally entered a partnership with northern anti-Houthi factions “on the basis of unifying the front to liberate the north”.

“But those forces, despite being part of the government and the Presidential Leadership Council, failed to carry out their duty to lead a battle to liberate the north from the Houthis, and instead returned to seeking to establish a state for themselves in the south,” he said.

He added that the PLC’s failure to launch a military operation in the north, to provide basic services in Aden and other areas, forced the STC to act. It "launched a military operation to drive out terrorist elements and the First Military Region units in Wadi Hadhramawt, most of whose members were loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Houthis,” the source said.

“The area was cleared, and forces pushed further to secure Al Mahra. With this, the STC now effectively controls the entire territory of the former state of South Yemen before unification.”

Mr Al Alimi sharply rejected that narrative. In a meeting with ambassadors, he said the STC’s unilateral actions violate the agreed terms of a transitional period and “directly threaten” unified security and military decision-making.

He warned that such moves were cementing parallel power structures, deepening internal splits within the PLC and risking “severe economic repercussions”, including an inability to pay salaries, fuel shortages for power stations and the erosion of donor confidence.

Yemen was plunged into civil war after the Iran-backed Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen in 2014, forcing the government to move south to the port city of Aden. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened the following year in an attempt to reinstate the government.