Separatist group in southern Yemen announces dissolution after its leader flees to the UAE

CAIRO — Yemen's main separatist group and its institutions will be dismantled effective Friday, the group's secretary-general said, following weeks of unrest in areas of southern Yemen and a day after its leader fled to the United Arab Emirates.

Abdulrahman Jalal al-Sebaihi said the Southern Transitional Council would shut down all of its bodies and offices inside and outside Yemen, citing internal disagreements and mounting regional pressure.

But that decision was contested by the council's spokesman, Anwar al-Tamimi, who said on X that only the full council, under its president, can take such steps — highlighting the internal divisions within the separatist movement.

Yemen has been mired for more than a decade in a civil war that involves a complex interplay of sectarian and tribal grievances and the involvement of regional powers.

The Iran-aligned Houthis control the most populous regions of the country in the north, including the capital Sanaa. Meanwhile, a loose regional coalition of powers — including Saudi Arabia and the UAE — has backed the internationally recognized government in the south.

The separatists seize territory, then lose it

The turmoil follows an advance last month by STC forces into the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra, where they seized oil-rich areas and facilities and the presidential palace in the main southern city of Aden. Those moves pushed out the Saudi-aligned National Shield Forces, and brought tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi into the open.

In explaining the STC's dissolution, al-Sebaihi said the council had not approved the military operations, which he said fractured unity in the south and ''damaged relations with the Saudi-led coalition.''

As a result, "the council's continued existence no longer serves the purpose for which it was established,'' al-Sebaihi said.

The STC was established in April 2017 as an umbrella organization for groups that seek to restore southern Yemen as an independent state, as it was between 1967 and 1990.

Al-Sebaihi said the group's members would now focus on achieving a ''fair'' solution for Yemen's south and prepare for a conference in the Saudi capital.

A win for the Saudis

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said the southern issue is now on a ''real path nurtured by the kingdom and endorsed by the international community." Mohamed al-Jaber, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, called the decision ''courageous" and said the Riyadh conference would include all influential southern figures. A date for the conference has not been announced yet.

Yemen's Shura Council, which is backed by the internationally recognized government, also welcomed the STC decision, and said the southern issue should be solved through ''a comprehensive political process.''

Abdulsalam Mohammed, the head of the Yemeni Abaad Studies and Research Center, said Friday that Saudi Arabia managed to contain the situation on the ground.

''Riyadh has proven that it will not allow any foreign interference to change the Yemeni roadmap by supporting one side over another, especially if force is used and chaos continues to threaten the security of Yemen, the region, and the world,'' he said in a comment on X.

Separatist leader flees to the United Arab Emirates

The Presidential Leadership Council said the STC leader was charged with treason after he reportedly declined to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for meetings, and after he deployed STC forces to head to al-Dahle, where his village is located.

The STC's national assembly had called for a march Saturday in Aden and Hadramout's port city of Mukalla in support of the ''right to self-determination'' in Yemen's south and in support of al-Zubaidi. However, it's unclear whether the march will still take place with the announcement of the council being dissolved.

A curfew imposed earlier across Aden due to the security situation was lifted Friday, according to Presidential Leadership Council member Abu Zarae Al-Mahremy, who is responsible for overseeing security across Aden.