Territory of the Southern Transitional Council

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Southern Transitional Council
Arabic: المجلس الانتقالي الجنوبي
Emblem of the Southern Transitional Council.png
Seal
Yemeni Civil War.svg
   Southern Transitional Council and Hadhrami Elite Forces
StatusSelf-governing Quasi-state (2020–2022, 2025–present)
Part of the Presidential Leadership Council (2022–2025)
Capital Aden
Government
• Chairman
Aidarus al-Zoubaidi
• Vice-chairman
Hani Bin Breik
• National Assembly Speaker
Ali Al-Kathiri
Establishment Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
History 
• Declared self-governance
26 April 2020 [1]
2 December 2025 – present
Currency Yemeni rial (YER)

The Territory of the Southern Transitional Council refers to territory in Yemen under the de facto control of the Southern Transitional Council during the Yemeni Civil War. The STC exercises control over the city of Aden, which also serves as it's capital, and most of the territory of the former South Yemen, which existed as an independent state between 1967 and 1990. [2] The STC wants to establish a new state under the name "State of South Arabia." [3]

Contents

Background

In 1914, following the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, the United Kingdom and Ottoman Empire divided Arabian Peninsula into two parts: the northwest under Ottoman control and influence, and the southeast under British control and influence. [4] The UK established the Aden Colony in 1937 and a Federation of the Emirates of South Arabia in 1959 which evolved into the Federation of South Arabia in 1963. Following an armed rebellion, British forces withdrew from southern Yemen in November 1967, resulting in the independence of the People's Republic of Southern Yemen which later became the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1970. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and neighbouring Yemen Arab Republic merged in May 1990 as the Republic of Yemen. Southern separatists proclaimed a Democratic Republic of Yemen in May 1994, however the attempted succession was defeated in July that year.

History

The Southern Movement and its offshoots have their roots in protests and sit-ins organised by military and civil officials in many of the southern and eastern governorates [5] , especially those who had been a member of the South Yemeni Armed Forces, who had been forced into an early retirement in 2007 demanding higher pensions. [6] From these protests, came other grievances against the incumbent government of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In September 2014, the Houthi movement took control of Sanaa leading to the Yemeni Civil War. Yemen's internationally recognised government moved to Aden, the capital of the former South Yemen.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) was established on 11 May 2017 and has called for re-establishment of South Yemen as an independent state. [7] [8] The STC took control of Aden in January 2018 and allied with the Yemeni government the following year.The STC declared self-governance on 26 April 2020. [9] A power-sharing Presidential Leadership Council was established in 2022 with the STC allocated three out of the eight seats, and STC leader Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, holding the vice-chairmanship. [10] [11] [12] [13]

In September 2025, the STC called for a "two-state solution" to ending the Yemeni civil war. [14] Three months later, in December 2025, the STC launched an offensive across southern Yemen rapidly capturing most of the territory of the former South Yemen. [15] [16] In the immediate aftermath, Presidential Leadership Council chair Rashad al-Alimi and prime minister Salem Saleh bin Braik left Aden for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [17]

Territorial control

As of 8 December 2025, the STC controlls most of the territory of the former South Yemen, i.e. the governorates of Aden, Lahij, Abyan, Shabwah, Hadhramawt, Al Mahrah and Socotra. [18] [19]

Administration

Presidency

An STC presidency was announced in May 2027 and as of May 2023 has 26 members with Aidarus al-Zoubaidi serving as chair and Hani Bin Breik as vice-chair. [20] [21]

National Assembly

The National Assembly is a deliberative body consisting of 303 members representing the districts and governorates of southern Yemen, it chaired by a member of the STC's presidency Ali Al-Kathiri. [22]

Human rights

Amnesty International reported a series of human rights violations in STC-held areas. Since 2023, the STC in Aden introduced restrictions on civil society organizations, requiring permits from STC-run bodies for public activities. According to Amnesty, permit requirements often involved extensive reporting obligations and were sometimes used to limit opposition to the STC. [23]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-52428998
  2. ↑ "Yemen conflict: Southern separatists seize control of Aden". 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  3. ↑ Wajdi, Izzat (2025-10-06). "حل الدولتين.. في اليمن" [The two-state solution... in Yemen]. الحرة (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-12-04. القطيعة مع فكرة يمن موحد، حسب الزبيدي، "ستكون نهائية. لن يحمل اسم الدولة القادمة حتى كلمة اليمن". "دولة الجنوب العربي" هو الأكثر قبولاً لدى أنصار المجلس الانتقالي، وهو اسم قديم يعود إلى الاتحاد الذي أنشأه المستعمر البريطاني عند توحيده عددا من المشيخات والسلطنات في الجنوب قبل الاستقلال عام 1967.[The break with the idea of a unified Yemen, according to Al-Zubaidi, "will be final. The name of the future state will not even include the word Yemen." "The State of South Arabia" is the most acceptable name among supporters of the Transitional Council. It is an old name that dates back to the union created by the British colonists when they unified a number of sheikhdoms and sultanates in the south before independence in 1967.]
  4. ↑ Schofield 1999.
  5. ↑ https://yementimes.com/as-demands-remain-unmet-retirees-threaten-to-continue-protests-archives2007-1082-front-page/
  6. ↑ https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/southern-yemenis-protest-yemeni-central-government-2007-2009-rrrr-rewrite#
  7. ↑ Wajdi, Izzat (2025-10-06). "حل الدولتين.. في اليمن" [The two-state solution... in Yemen]. الحرة (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-12-04. القطيعة مع فكرة يمن موحد، حسب الزبيدي، "ستكون نهائية. لن يحمل اسم الدولة القادمة حتى كلمة اليمن". "دولة الجنوب العربي" هو الأكثر قبولاً لدى أنصار المجلس الانتقالي، وهو اسم قديم يعود إلى الاتحاد الذي أنشأه المستعمر البريطاني عند توحيده عددا من المشيخات والسلطنات في الجنوب قبل الاستقلال عام 1967.[The break with the idea of a unified Yemen, according to Al-Zubaidi, "will be final. The name of the future state will not even include the word Yemen." "The State of South Arabia" is the most acceptable name among supporters of the Transitional Council. It is an old name that dates back to the union created by the British colonists when they unified a number of sheikhdoms and sultanates in the south before independence in 1967.]
  8. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/world/middleeast/yemen-militias-attack-oil-uae.html
  9. ↑ "Yemen separatists declare self-governance of south". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. ↑ DC (ACW), Arab Center Washington (2024-05-22). "Israel, the UAE, and Yemen's South: The Politics of Unlikely Alliances". Arab Center Washington DC. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  11. ↑ Saudi Research & Marketing (uk) Ltd. "Thirty Southern Figures Reject Transitional Council in Aden – ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English". english.aawsat.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Separatist group announces self-rule in southern Yemen". Al Jazeera. 26 April 2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Banished Aden governor forms independent "South Yemen" council". alaraby. alaraby.co.uk. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (2025-09-25). "Yemen needs two-state solution as no prospect of ousting Houthis, says southern leader". The Guardian . Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  15. ↑ Naar, Ismaeel (10 December 2025). "Yemeni Separatists Set Sights on Houthi-Controlled Capital". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  16. ↑ The New Arab (16 May 2017). "GCC: Aden-based Southern Transitional Council 'doomed to fail'". alaraby. alaraby.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  17. ↑ https://en.ypagency.net/378552
  18. ↑ "Separatists claim broad control of southern Yemen". The New Arab. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  19. ↑ Naar, Ismaeel (10 December 2025). "Yemeni Separatists Set Sights on Houthi-Controlled Capital". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "Where Coalitions Come to Die". Sana'a Center. 2019-09-04.
  21. ↑ Forster, R (September 2017). "The Southern Transitional Council: Implications for Yemen's peace process" (PDF). Middle East Policy. 24 (3): 133–144. doi:10.1111/mepo.12295. hdl: 20.500.11820/eb7d2018-0f05-478d-aa15-3b38cdd796fa .
  22. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200904204732/https://al-ain.com/article/yemen-south-transitional-council/
  23. ↑ "Yemen: Southern Transitional Council must end crackdown on civic space". Amnesty International. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
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