Members of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) have announced the group’s dissolution during peace talks in Riyadh, but the move has quickly become highly contested and intensified political tensions within the country’s pro-government camp. Delegates from the UAE-backed STC, who have been in Riyadh this week for negotiations with the Saudi-backed internationally recognised Yemeni government, declared that the council would disband in a televised statement — a decision welcomed by Saudi officials as a step toward broader political dialogue.
However, key STC figures outside Saudi Arabia sharply rejected the announcement, calling it “ridiculous” and made under duress, and affirmed that decisions on the council’s future can only be taken by its full leadership — including its president, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who did not attend the Riyadh talks and reportedly fled to the United Arab Emirates amid the dispute.
The disputed dissolution reflects deeper fractures between Gulf powers backing different factions in Yemen’s pro-government camp and comes after recent clashes in southern provinces and diplomatic strains between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In response, the STC’s National Assembly has called for demonstrations in Aden and Mukalla to protest what it describes as an illegitimate political move, underscoring mounting instability in an already fragmented political landscape in Yemen.
As rival factions debate the council’s fate and public protests loom, Yemen’s path toward peace appears increasingly uncertain, signalling intensified political tensions in the conflict-ridden country’s south.news as reported.
