Southern Transitional Council (STC) has continued rejecting renewed calls on Sunday to withdraw its forces Hadramout and Al Mahra amid warnings the move could weaken the authority of the country’s internationally-recognized government.
The STC’s deployment in Hadramout and Al Mahra has drawn growing local and regional concern. Critics warn the presence of southern forces in the two eastern provinces risks eroding state institutions at a time of deep political and economic fragility.
Hadramout and Mahra are among Yemen’s largest provinces, together accounting for almost half the country’s landmass, about 555,000 square kilometres, and have largely been spared direct fighting between government forces and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for more than a decade.
STC forces moved into Hadramout on December 3 after clashes with the Hadramout Tribes Alliance and government-aligned First Military Region forces. Four days later, they extended their control to Mahra, which had previously remained under government authority.
On Sunday, Ali al-Kathiri, head of the STC’s National Assembly, held a video meeting with officials from the office of UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, briefing them on what he described as improving security and service conditions in Hadramout.
According to the STC’s website, Kathiri said the province had seen “normal stability” since STC forces took control of the Wadi and Desert areas on December 3. He said there had been no official reports of killings, abductions or extrajudicial actions, dismissing allegations circulating locally and online.
Kathiri said the STC plans to ban the carrying of weapons inside cities and cited what he described as a revival in commercial activity without harassment. He added that major roads linking Hadramout to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Marib had stabilized after being secured.
Addressing accusations of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Kathiri said residents from northern provinces living in Hadramout faced no harassment and were continuing their lives normally. He added that those who left the province had done so “under no duress”.
He said local authorities were continuing to operate “freely” across all districts in coordination with the STC, stressing that the deployment of southern forces was intended to “secure and liberate” the Wadi and Desert areas, not to seize power.
Kathiri said the bodies of soldiers killed in clashes with the First Military Region had been handed over and that some detainees had been released, while others remained in custody on criminal charges.
Rejecting calls for a withdrawal, he said demands for STC forces to leave Hadramout’s Wadi and Desert areas were “unjustified.” He added there were no issues with the Nation’s Shield Forces or the Hadrami Elite Forces, which he described as “central to securing southern Yemen and countering terrorism.”
The Nation’s Shield Forces were formed in 2023 by a decision from Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi and formally fall under his command, while the Hadrami Elite Forces are aligned with the STC.
Kathiri also said conditions on the Hadramout Plateau had returned to normal and that state oil company PetroMasila had resumed operations under the protection of company guards and the Hadrami Elite Forces.
He said the closure of Seiyun International Airport was temporary, citing maintenance and security arrangements, and that flights would resume soon, without giving a date. The airport was abruptly shut around two weeks ago without an official explanation.
The government-aligned Al-Islah party sharply criticised the STC’s actions, saying they were designed to undermine Yemen’s legitimate authorities and impose a parallel administration outside agreed political frameworks, including the Riyadh Agreement.
In a statement carried on the party’s website, Ibrahim al-Shami, head of Al-Islah’s foreign relations, warned that the STC’s moves could allow the Houthi group to exploit internal divisions to prolong the conflict.
The latest escalation risks further worsening conditions in Yemen, already suffering one of the world’s most severe humanitarian and economic crises, according to the United Nations.
As part of efforts to ease tensions, a Saudi-Emirati delegation visited the presidential palace in Aden last week to discuss developments in eastern Yemen. However, the talks have yet to yield tangible results on the ground.