Yemen’s main southern separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), claims it has consolidated control across the country’s south. The announcement on Monday, which marks a major power shift, comes following a military operation launched last week. Eight southern governorates “are under the protection of the Southern Armed Forces”, including the port city of Aden, STC representative Amr al-Bidh told Reuters news agency. “We are concentrating on unifying the operational theatre of our armed forces to enhance coordination and readiness to reinforce stability and security in the south, as well as combating the Houthis should there be a willingness to head in this direction.” Yemen’s internationally recognised government, known as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), criticised the separatists, calling their “unilateral” actions a “blatant violation of the transitional phase’s framework”. The government controls the provinces of Marib and Taiz. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2015 between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the central government in Sanaa. While the STC opposes the Houthis, and is part of the PLC, the group has previously called for the separation of the southern region from Yemen. Yemen remains fragile and fragmented, with three main entities controlling most of the country and smaller groups maintaining influence in select regions. Here is what you need to know about the different groups ruling Yemen. The STC is a southern Yemeni separatist movement formed on May 11, 2017. It emerged after mass protests in Aden against the dismissal of its leader, Aidarus al‑Zoubaidi, who became head of the 26-member council and sits on the PLC. The council’s declared aim is to “reinstate the Southern State” – a reference to the independent state that existed in the south before unification with the north, between 1967 and 1990. With backing from a regional power, the STC exerts control over a number of paramilitary forces originally known as the “Security Belt”, now often referred to broadly as the Southern Armed Forces. Over time, the STC has gained significant territorial and political influence in southern Yemen – most notably capturing the port city of Aden. It has repeatedly declared self-rule in areas under its control, citing government corruption and misgovernance. Although the STC has sometimes entered into power-sharing arrangements with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, its underlying demand remains southern autonomy or independence. Last week, the STC stormed large parts of the oil-rich Hadramout governorate, including the presidential palace of Seiyun. It claims it wanted to “restore stability and bring an end to the state of security breakdown, and halt the exploitation of the region by forces alien to the valley [of Hadramout] and the governorate”. The PLC was established in 2022 when former Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi formally transferred his powers to the new eight-member body. Its mandate is to manage Yemen’s political, security, and military affairs during a transitional period and to steer negotiations towards a permanent ceasefire. It is chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, an adviser to Hadi and former interior minister with the government of late President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Its membership is drawn from a mix of northern and southern politicians and military-linked leaders — including the STC — in a bid to unite major anti-Houthi forces under one roof. At the PLC’s inception, al-Alimi pledged to end the civil war, provide economic stability, and alleviate the humanitarian crises in the country as its top priorities. However, since 2022, internal divisions among the PLC’s members — who represent differing political and regional interests — have deepened, making it largely ineffective. Ansar Allah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, is a group armed and trained by Iran and now exerting control of at least five provinces in the north and northwestern parts of the country, including the capital city, Sanaa. It also controls several regions bordering Saudi Arabia. Originating in the 1990s, the Houthis had at least six wars with Yemen’s government forces during the era of ousted leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh had to abandon his presidency in the wake of mass protests against his rule during the Arab Spring, which broke out in 2011. The Houthis grew stronger and became eager to consolidate their grip on power. The group drew global attention in 2014 when they launched an armed uprising against Yemen’s government, forcing former president Hadi to flee the capital and subsequently step down from office. This takeover led to the government’s collapse and triggered a major political crisis and military collapse. It also worsened the severe humanitarian conditions in the country, which is considered one of the poorest in the world. In the years that followed, the Houthis withstood a wide Saudi-led Arab military coalition. Since 2022, the fighting has largely frozen, though occasional clashes and shifts in military positions have continued. In November 2023, the Houthis began targeting civilian and military vessels suspected of having Israeli ties, a campaign aimed at pressuring Israel to halt its genocidal war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023. They also launched multiple missile and drone assaults against Israel, with several strikes reportedly hitting their intended targets.
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