Entrenching “Secession”: STC Launches the “Post-Wadi Hadramawt” Phase with a High-Level Meeting in Aden Attended by Yemeni Defense Minister
Yemen Monitor / Aden / Exclusive:
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) held a high-level meeting of its Presidency in the interim capital Aden on Saturday, chaired by Aidarous Al-Zubaidi and attended by his deputy, Abdulrahman Al-Mahrami, to consolidate the military and field outcomes resulting from what it described as the “completion of purging” Wadi Hadramawt and Al-Mahra — a step the council ties directly to its push for declaring secession.
The meeting, attended by Yemeni Minister of Defense, discussed the rapidly unfolding developments in the Yemeni landscape, particularly the STC’s takeover of Wadi Hadramawt and parts of Al-Mahra, where its forces have imposed full control.
According to the STC’s official website, the leadership praised what it called the “victories and gains,” stressing the priority of “normalizing the situation” in the eastern regions following the recent shifts.
The STC’s executive leadership reviewed the political and economic requirements for the coming phase, as well as the necessary arrangements for strengthening stability across the governorates of southern Yemen.
Al-Zubaidi emphasized the “sensitive nature of the stage,” which he said demands the combined efforts of civilian and military leaders, along with business figures, explicitly toward the goal of secession, which he described as “building the modern federal Southern state.” The remarks offered a clear signal that the council intends to advance further with its separation project.
The high-level meeting in Aden coincided with the start of an open-ended sit-in launched by STC supporters in Hadramawt, raising slogans calling for an official declaration of disengagement and showing support for the recent military steps that have shifted the balance of power in the valley and desert regions — areas that for many years served as a stronghold of pro-unity government forces opposed to secession.
