Separatists eye independent state in Yemen

TT

Published 22.39

 

Supporters of the separatist movement STC demonstrate for the group in the port city of Aden on Friday. Photo: AP/TT

The separatist movement STC in Yemen has announced a two-year transitional period that will lead to the formation of a new state, South Arabia.

Despite several Saudi attacks on the separatists in the province of Hadramawt – which are still ongoing on Friday evening – the STC claims that they intend to form an independent state that would divide today's Yemen into a northern and a southern part.

The group's leader Aidaros Alzubidi says that during the transitional period they will hold discussions with, among others, the Houthi movement, which controls northern Yemen, and also promises to hold a referendum on the issue.

But in a televised speech, he also warned that the separatists would “immediately” declare an independent state if the other parties – including the UN – refused to discuss the issue or if the parts of southern Yemen that the group controls were attacked.

In December, the STC captured large parts of Hadramawt, which led to a sharp escalation in tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The latter country announced on Friday that all its forces in Yemen had now left the country.

The STC declared autonomy for southern Yemen in 2020, but three months later abandoned its declaration and promised to implement a peace agreement with the government. This agreement was also later abandoned.

The civil war has raged in Yemen for more than a decade.