Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Southern Transitional Council (STC), “declared dissolved,” launched a sharp attack on Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government, in the first reaction to the latter’s request to the UN Security Council to include Aidarous al-Zubaidi and his associates, who are participating in acts of rebellion in the eastern governorates, on the sanctions list.
In a statement issued today, Wednesday, the STC considered that the current “relative calm” in the southern governorates is the result of a policy of “self-restraint” practiced by the council, threatening escalation and confrontation in response to what it described as “the continuation of the status quo imposed by military and political force.”
The council rejected the recent briefing presented by Yemen’s representative to the United Nations, describing it as “not reflecting the core of the existing political issues.” It also attacked the Head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, and Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of closing its headquarters in Aden, warning that these measures could lead to a “clash” on the street, accusing Riyadh of detaining what it said was the council’s delegation since last January, and demanding its release.
The STC’s statement came a day after the Yemeni government formally requested the UN Security Council to include Aidarous al-Zubaidi and the leaders participating in the rebellion on the sanctions list, during the speech of Yemen’s representative in the session dedicated to discussing the Yemeni file.
Yesterday, directives were issued by the Attorney General, Qahir Mustafa, ordering the impounding of funds and assets belonging to the “dissolved” STC, and addressing the Central Bank, commercial banks, and exchange companies to freeze its financial accounts and balances, as well as the balances of its leaders, and to prevent any withdrawal or transfer operations from them.
The judicial measures also included obligating financial institutions to provide the Public Prosecution with detailed data regarding those accounts, alongside inventorying and recovering lands, real estate, government facilities, and public assets seized by the council during past years, in preparation for returning them to the competent government entities.
Many of the STC leaders have taken refuge in the UAE, including its president, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, since last January, and his supporters inside the country are pushing to organize events that could end up colliding with security forces.
A number of the council’s leaders had announced its dissolution in the same month, and affirmed entry into the Southern-Southern dialogue called for by the Head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and sponsored by Riyadh.
