Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) wave South Yemen flags during a rally in Aden, Yemen, on January 2, 2026. AP
In a show of defiance toward the Yemeni government and its backer Saudi Arabia, the separatists of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced on Friday evening, January 2, the start of a process to restore a state in southern Yemen. In a televised address, STC president Aidarous Al-Zubaidi declared a two-year transitional period. The constitutional declaration, released by the STC, outlined a self-determination referendum for the "State of South Arabia" within the borders of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, which was independent from 1967 to 1990, with Aden as its capital.
The STC formed part of the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Arab coalition established in 2015 by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fight the Houthi rebels, who, with Iranian support, seized the capital Sanaa. However, since its founding in 2017, the separatist group, backed by the UAE, has driven the project for an independent South Yemen.
Zubaidi called on the international community to sponsor a "dialogue" with the Yemeni government, warning that the separatist group would "immediately" declare independence if the call for dialogue went unheard or if southern Yemen again faced "military aggression." On Friday morning, the Yemeni government, with Saudi support, launched an offensive to retake the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, which the STC had seized in early December 2025, including the presidential palace in Aden.
