Supporters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council demonstrating in Aden, southern Yemen, on Jan. 16, 2026. (Credit: AFP Photo) Supporters of the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) brandish the People's Republic of South Yemen flag as they attend a rally after a call by their leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi (portraits), to denounce the alleged detention of an STC delegation in Riyadh and to protest against the leadership of pro-Saudi forces in the region, in Aden on January 16, 2026. Yemen's eight-seat presidential body on January 15 dismissed its last UAE-backed member, a southern separatist, consolidating Saudi Arabia's full control over the country's decision-making body. In December, forces from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council briefly captured two key provinces, infuriating Saudi Arabia, which rolled back their land grab with air strikes and allies on the ground. (Photo by AFP)
The leader of Yemen’s separatist movement has vowed to continue working toward an independent state, addressing his supporters on social media for the first time since his disappearance following his group’s brief offensive in the country’s south.
In December, forces from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), led by Aidarous al-Zoubaidi and backed by the United Arab Emirates, seized two southern provinces, Hadramout and Mahra, during an offensive that was later repelled by Saudi airstrikes and Yemeni ground forces supported by Saudi Arabia.
Accused of “high treason” and removed from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, al-Zoubaidi was declared to be on the run in early January, the same day he was due to attend Saudi-hosted talks aimed at reconciling the country’s rival factions. Saudi Arabia said he had traveled to the UAE, while STC officials insisted he remained in Yemen.
“We will no longer accept solutions that limit our rights or impose an unacceptable reality on us,” al-Zoubaidi said in a message to supporters late Friday.
During the offensive, STC forces temporarily took control of territory broadly corresponding to the former state of South Yemen, which existed from 1967 to 1990 and which the separatists seek to restore. The operation heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two Gulf powers backing rival factions within Yemen’s government.
“I promise you that together we will continue until we achieve our national goal,” the separatist leader said. “With your determination, we will overcome. With your unity, the South will be protected, and with your will, the future state will be established.”
On Friday, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the southern city of Aden in support of the separatists, holding portraits of al-Zoubaidi and chanting slogans against Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council.
One protester, Hussein Mohammad al-Yafai, told AFP he had come to “reject the illegitimate measures taken by Saudi Arabia against the South.” Another demonstrator, Wafi al-Arimi, said, “No power on earth can force the people of the South to abandon their national project.”
Following the failed separatist offensive, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council announced that all military forces in southern Yemen would operate under the command of the Saudi-led coalition, while pro-Emirati ministers and council members were dismissed.
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