The STC’s collapse leads to Yemeni government strides in the south, but Houthis remain defiant in the north.
![People attend a rally organised by Yemen's main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), in Aden, Yemen December 21, 2025. [Fawaz Salman/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-12-21T170029Z_353325091_RC22LIACEYLH_RTRMADP_3_YEMEN-SECURTY_cropped-1767985630.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
“The [Southern Transitional Council in Yemen] has now become just too poisonous.”
Yemen’s main southern separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council has announced it is to disband.
The STC, which Saudi Arabia says is backed by the UAE, launched an offensive against Yemeni gov’t troops in December.
![A soldier walks outside a military barracks in Aden, Yemen January 8, 2026. [Fawaz Salman/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-08T114449Z_750471876_RC2VWIA69GL9_RTRMADP_3_YEMEN-SECURITY_cropped-1767900270.jpg?resize=730%2C410&quality=80)
Saudi-backed forces were seen deploying in Aden a day after separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled to the UAE.
Secessionist STC had de facto control over most of southern Yemen, but then squandered it by going too far.
Secessionist leader took a boat to Berbera and then boarded plane that flew to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu, coalition says.
Yemeni secessionist leader didn’t attend scheduled peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
“They[STC] basically said, Aidarous [al-Zubaidi] feared that if he’s going to go to Riyadh…”
Video shows explosions at an arms storage facility in southern Yemen.
From governor to fugitive: Who is al-Zubaidi, the southern leader accused of ‘high treason’ in Yemen?
