Southern Yemen separatists call foul as 'detained' delegation in Riyadh announce STC dissolution

Members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks an independent state for southern Yemen, have dismissed a declaration by their colleagues in Riyadh who announced on Friday that the body had been dissolved.

Senior STC figures told The New Arab they consider the statement made by a delegation sent to Saudi Arabia for talks with the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government to have been made under duress, and view the declaration of the STC's disbandment as invalid.

"The decisions relating to the Southern Transitional Council cannot be taken except by the Council in its entirety, with all its institutions, and under the chairmanship of the president. This will happen as soon as the STC delegation present in Riyadh is released," tweeted Anwar Al-Tamimi, the official spokesperson for the STC, shortly after the announcement.

"The STC will continue positive and constructive engagement with all political initiatives which give the southern people the opportunity to determine their future. "

Abdulrahman Jalal al-Sebaihi, the STC's secretary-general, who was part of the delegation in Riyadh, announced on Yemeni TV that the STC would be disbanded on Friday, blindsiding his colleagues outside Saudi Arabia.

"Since we did not participate in the decision regarding the military operation against the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra, which harmed the unity of the southern ranks and damaged relations with the Saudi-led coalition, the Council’s continued existence no longer serves the purpose for which it was established," al-Sebaihi said Friday.

The move was welcomed by the Saudi and Yemeni governments, saying it will heal divisions and unify the country.

Yemen has been devastated by a multifaceted civil war ever since the takeover of the capital Sanaa by Houthi rebels in 2014.

Around 50 senior figures of the STC, including ministers, landed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning for a dialogue with other Yemeni factions, intended to end weeks of fighting between southern separatists and government forces - former allies in the war against the Iran-backed Houthis.

Shortly after they arrived in Riyadh, the STC delegates were allegedly led onto a black bus and whisked away from the airport, with senior STC figure Amr Al-Bidh telling The New Arab this week that all contact with their colleagues had been lost since then.

Mohamed Al-Sahimi, the group's representative to the UK, rejected the announcement by colleagues in Riyadh, saying the STC is continuing its work in southern Yemen and to coordinating with international partners to find a resolution to the crisis.

"Decisions on the STC can only be taken by the full council, and the president - a decision such as this cannot be done under duress. This will be done when the STC delegation in Riyadh is released," he told The New Arab.

"We made attempts to contact our delegation (in Saudi Arabia) but were unable to get through to any of them. Their phones seem to switched off."

There have been weeks of clashes between forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and southern separatist militias supported by the UAE, who are now mostly confined to the coastal city of Aden.

It follows the surprise takeover of areas in Hadramout and Al-Mahra by STC-aligned militias in December, with Saudi planes striking an alleged Emirati weapons cargo at Mukalla port, said to be heading to southern separatist groups.

Riyadh considered the takeover of these territories in southern and eastern Yemen to be a red line that threatened its national security, targeting STC positions. Some view the STC's project in southern Yemen as a step toward the dismemberment of the country that could have regional consequences.

The UAE has responded to the strike on the alleged Emirati cargo by withdrawing its "counter-terrorism" forces from Yemen, and the STC retreated from the territories it had seized, with government forces now reportedly advancing on Aden, the de facto capital of the separatists.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition, supporting the Yemeni government, claimed on Thursday that STC head Aidarous al-Zubaidi had departed Aden for the UAE, sparking questions over the future of the movement.

The STC on Friday called for protests to take place on Saturday in Aden and Mukalla to support the embattled leader and oppose the announcement made by the faction in Riyadh.