Yemeni government forces close STC offices in Aden

Forces from the Yemeni government's Southern Giants Brigades began closing the offices of the dissolved Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen’s interim capital Aden on Sunday, as part of government measures following last week’s unrest at the Maashiq gate.

The move comes after authorities accused STC supporters of attempting to storm the Maashiq area on Thursday evening, where the government headquarters and Maashiq Palace are located east of the Crater district.

The STC seeks a separate state in southern Yemen and has previously received support from the United Arab Emirates, before Saudi Arabia forced the UAE out of Yemen.

Employees and members of the Southern General Assembly told The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that units from the Southern Giants Brigades took control of the General Assembly and Advisory Council building in Tawahi district.

They said armed personnel and armoured vehicles were deployed inside and around the building, the main gate was closed, and administrative staff and council members were prevented from entering and ordered to leave.

Aden Independent Channel, affiliated with the STC, said in a Facebook post that "Saudi-backed forces closed the headquarters of the General Assembly" in Tawahi and barred members and employees from entering.

In a separate post, it said "Saudi-backed forces closed the headquarters of the Foreign Affairs Authority of the Southern Transitional Council in Tawahi district and prevented members and employees from entering the building".

Sources within the STC told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that other Giants Brigades forces seized the headquarters of the STC's Foreign Affairs Authority in Tawahi at dawn on Sunday, ordering guards to vacate the building before stationing forces inside and around it.

The same sources said that late on Friday night, orders were delivered to STC leaders to close all council offices in Aden and across southern governorates, in line with directives from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the STC’s Foreign Affairs Authority condemned the closures, saying the council expresses its "absolute condemnation of the arbitrary decision taken by parties within the Presidential Leadership Council to close all STC offices in the capital Aden".

It added: "This measure, which included our headquarters and prevented us from carrying out our duties, is not merely targeting administrative offices, but a systematic attempt to tighten the noose around the southern cause and silence the voice of its people."

The statement said that "despite these provocations, the Southern Transitional Council reaffirms its firm commitment to seeking a comprehensive political solution".

It added that "the path to sustainable peace inevitably passes through enabling the people of the South to determine their own future, in accordance with the fundamental references of the southern cause, represented in the political declaration issued on 2 January and the Southern National Charter".

Earlier on Saturday, Aden Governor Abdulrahman Sheikh outlined a series of measures taken since his appointment on 7 January, including relocating military forces outside the interim capital and assigning security forces responsibility for maintaining order.

He described the issue as decisive and said it would not be reversed, citing the need to enhance security, stability and the civilian character of the city.

Sheikh said freedom of expression remains guaranteed and that protests may be held in designated areas, but warned that authorities would not tolerate actions leading to chaos, breaches of public order or the storming of institutions.

The developments follow clashes at Maashiq gate on Thursday evening, after which Aden’s security committee accused the dissolved STC of backing armed groups that attacked security forces and attempted to storm the main entrance to the Maashiq area.

Security forces subsequently carried out raids and arrests of several individuals on charges of incitement and participation in the events.

Among those detained was Mohammed Hussein Jarallah, acting head of the STC’s local body in Aden, who was released on Saturday evening, according to STC sources.

The closures coincided with the gradual resumption of broadcasting by Aden Independent Channel after nearly two months off air, with the channel airing its first news bulletin from inside Aden on Saturday evening.