Ongoing Tensions in Southern Yemen: an Unresolved Political Crisis

Bodies affiliated with Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) have issued an emergency statement from Aden rejecting reports of the council’s dissolution and declaring them null and illegal.

In the statement, released by the National Assembly, the Advisory Council, and the General Secretariat, the institutions said that senior leaders of the STC in Riyadh are being held under what they described as forced detention. They claimed the leaders’ phones and documents have been confiscated and that they have been cut off from communication.

The Southern Transitional Council called for the immediate release of its delegation and stressed that any declaration of dissolution made under pressure or coercion has no legal validity.

These developments come as Yemen continues to face prolonged political and security crises that have persisted since 2014. The country has been gripped by multiple layers of conflict, including the war between the Houthi movement and the internationally recognised central government, as well as internal disputes in the south involving local factions and government-aligned forces.

The overlapping conflicts have contributed to widespread instability and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, affecting millions of Yemenis.

Reports indicate that tensions in southern Yemen remain ongoing, with no clear resolution in sight.