Jan 02,2026:Fighting broke out on Friday in Yemen’s Hadramout province that borders Saudi Arabia, between forces loyal to the region’s Saudi-backed governor and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).The STC accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border on Friday.Seven people were killed and more than 20 people were also wounded as seven air strikes hit a camp in Al-Khasah, said Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the STC in Wadi Hadramaut and Hadramaut Desert.
But Hadramout’s governor Salem al-Khanbashi said on Friday that the efforts to take back bases from the STC were meant to “peacefully and systematically” reclaim military sites in Yemen’s southern province.
The STC is a southern Yemeni separatist movement formed on May 11, 2017.It emerged after mass protests in Aden against the dismissal of its leader, Aidarus al‑Zoubaidi, as the governor of Aden. He became head of the 26-member council and sits on the PLC.
The council’s declared aim is to “reinstate the Southern State”, a reference to the independent state that existed in the south from 1967 to 1990 before unification with the north.
With backing from the UAE, the STC exerts control over a number of paramilitary forces originally known as the “Security Belt”, now often referred to broadly as the Southern Armed Forces.
Over time, the STC has gained significant territorial and political influence in southern Yemen, most notably by capturing the port city of Aden.
It has repeatedly declared self-rule in areas under its control, citing government corruption and misgovernance.
Although the STC has sometimes entered into power-sharing arrangements with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, its underlying demand remains southern autonomy or independence.
