The UAE-backed leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, has called for protests in Aden, marking his first public statement since his whereabouts became unknown over a week ago.
In a message broadcast by the pro-separatist Aden Independent Channel, Al-Zubaidi urged “the people of South Arabia to rally in the capital Aden on Friday.”
The call comes after Al-Zubaidi was accused of high treason and dismissed from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council. He disappeared following a swift military defeat of his forces by Saudi-backed factions earlier in January. His current location remains disputed; Saudi officials claim he is in the United Arab Emirates, while STC officials insist he remains in Yemen.
According to the channel, the protests are intended to support the STC’s declaration of an independent state and to demand the release of the movement’s members held in Saudi Arabia. The STC seeks to re-establish the state of South Yemen, which unified with the north in 1990.
The recent conflict has exposed significant divisions between Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who were previously united in the coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
An offensive launched by STC forces in the Hadramawt and Mahra provinces was repelled by Saudi airstrikes and a ground counter-offensive from pro-Saudi forces. In the aftermath, the Yemeni government has removed UAE-aligned ministers and declared that all southern factions would be unified under Saudi command.
