Yemen’s main separatist group defies withdrawal calls, expands incursions in country’s east

By Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Yemen’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), continues to ignore government calls to withdraw from the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and has launched a new military operation in the southern province of Abyan amid rising tensions in the war-torn country.

The STC has controlled Hadramout since Dec. 3 following clashes with the Hadramout Tribes Alliance (which is not aligned with the government and calls for self-rule), and the First Military Region forces (affiliated with the government).

Four days later, the council extended its control to Al-Mahra, which had been under government forces.

The STC-affiliated Security Belt Forces said Monday that it has launched a new military operation in Abyan, saying that the operation aims at what it described as “cutting supply lines for terrorist elements and organizations” in the region.

At the same time, STC President Aidrous al-Zubaidi met on Monday with Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani at the presidential palace in the temporary capital Aden, where he called for a battle against the Houthis.

In its escalatory rhetoric against the Yemeni government, the STC leadership in Wadi Hadramout also described the First Military Region forces as an “occupation.”

There has been no government statement about the content of the meeting.

The Houthis – who have controlled most northern and western governorates since 2014, including the capital Sanaa – have also not commented.

- Violations

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms, a non-governmental organization, said that it has documented 4,071 violations committed by STC forces in Hadramout.

In a statement on Tuesday, the network said the violations included the killing of 35 soldiers, the wounding of 56 others, the execution of seven prisoners, and the arrest of 268 civilians.

According to the statement, the violations also included looting 112 homes and 56 shops, and displacement of around 3,500 people.

It called on the STC to “immediately halt the violations, release detainees, return looted property, and open an independent investigation into killings and extrajudicial executions.”

There was no immediate comment from the council.

The STC was formed in 2017 and advocates the secession of southern Yemen and a return to the pre-1990 political arrangement, citing the marginalization of southern regions by successive governments – claims denied by the authorities.

While regional and international efforts have failed to bring peace to Yemen amid a war between government forces and the Houthi group, the country’s south has seen rising tensions that have heightened fears of the country’s division.

Last week, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi called for the immediate withdrawal of the STC forces from Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, which make up nearly half of Yemen’s geographical area (about 528,000 square kilometers).

Alimi described the withdrawal as “the only option to normalize conditions in the eastern regions of the country and restore the path of growth and recovery.”

Militarily, cities along Hadramout’s coast, including Mukalla and the historic port city of Ash Shihr, are controlled by the Hadramout Elite Forces, which are aligned with the STC. Yemen’s internationally recognized government primarily controls Marib in the northeast and Taiz in the southwest.

Yemen was unified in May 1990, but political disputes and longstanding grievances in the south later fueled renewed secessionist calls, particularly after the outbreak of the current civil war.

Despite regional and international efforts, attempts to secure peace in Yemen have failed amid the war between government forces and the Houthi group, which controls much of northern and northwestern Yemen.