Yemen’s separatist STC calls for independence vote as fighting intensifies

Yemen’s southern separatist movement says it aims to hold a referendum on independence from the north in two years as Saudi-backed forces are fighting to regain territory the separatists seized last month.

Fighting broke out on Friday in Hadramout province, which borders Saudi Arabia, between forces loyal to Hadramout’s Saudi-backed governor and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). The STC accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border.

Seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded when seven air strikes hit a camp in al-Khashaa, said Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the STC in Wadi Hadramout and the Hadramout Desert.

But Hadramout 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 operation is not a declaration of war or an escalation, but rather a precautionary measure to protect security and prevent chaos,” he said in a statement.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Al Attab, reporting from Sanaa, said fighting was reported to be taking place on Friday in positions where STC forces are located along the Saudi border.

But, he added, “we are still waiting for confirmation about what is going on there,” saying the latest information available from the area suggested the STC had maintained control of its positions.

For its part, Saudi Arabia early Saturday called on all parties to participate in a forum to “formulate a comprehensive ⁠vision for fair solutions to ‌the southern cause”. It said the meeting was requested by the head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi.

Independence referendum

The outbreak in fighting comes after Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it had appointed al-Khanbashi to take overall command of “National Shield” forces in the eastern province, granting him full military, security and administrative authority in what it said was a move to restore security and order.

Hours after the fighting broke out, the STC announced the start of a two-year transitional period towards declaring an independent state.

“We announce the commencement of a transitional phase lasting two years, and the Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between the concerned parties in the South and the North,” STC President Aidaros Alzubidi said in a televised address.

However, he warned that the group would declare independence “immediately” if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen again came under attack.

“This constitutional declaration shall be considered immediately and directly effective before that date if the call is not heeded or if the people of the south, their land or their forces are subjected to any military attacks,” Alzubidi said.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, speaking from Doha, said the announcement would not be welcomed by Yemen’s internationally recognised government or the Houthi movement, which controls parts of northern Yemen and Sanaa, the capital.

“For the internationally recognised government and even for the Houthis in the north, this [announcement] is a red line because this is ending the unity of Yemen and the one-state that’s been there for the past 26 years,” Hashem said

Riyadh and the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which it backs, have accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the STC and pushing it to seize parts of Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces in southern Yemen last month. Riyadh has warned that it views the STC’s growing presence in these provinces as a threat to its national security. The UAE has rejected these allegations and said it is committed to Saudi Arabia’s security.

The UAE confirmed on Friday that its last soldiers had left Yemen, a week after it said it was pulling its remaining forces out of the country after Saudi Arabia backed a call for its forces to leave within 24 hours.

“The UAE concluded the presence of its counterterrorism forces,” a government official said, adding that it “remains committed to dialogue, de-escalation and internationally supported processes as the only sustainable path to peace”.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the STC are all part of a military coalition that Riyadh pulled together a decade ago to confront the Houthis. But the STC’s increasingly aggressive secessionist acts and allegations that the UAE is assisting the group have fostered tensions within the coalition.

The head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, al-Alimi, warned against any attempt to oppose the government’s decisions to prevent the country from sliding into a new cycle of violence.

“The decision to end the Emirati military presence came within the framework of correcting the course of the [coalition] and in coordination with its joint leadership, and in a way that ensures the cessation of any support for elements outside the state,” al-Alimi said in a statement.

Tensions escalate

The STC has insisted its fighters will remain in place in the southern provinces that Saudi Arabia and the official Yemeni government want them to withdraw from.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen blamed STC leader Aidarus al-Zubaidi for refusing to grant landing permission the previous day for a plane carrying a Saudi delegation to Aden.

“For several weeks and until yesterday, ‌the Kingdom sought to make all efforts with the Southern Transitional ⁠Council to end the escalation … but it faced continuous rejection and stubbornness from Aidarus Al-Zubaidi,” Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber said on X.

A halt in flights at Aden International Airport ‌on Thursday continued into Friday as both sides traded blame for the air traffic shutdown.

In a statement on Thursday, the STC-controlled Transport Ministry accused Saudi Arabia of imposing an air blockade, saying Riyadh required ‍all flights to go via Saudi Arabia for extra checks. A Saudi Arabian source, however, denied the allegation, saying Yemen’s internationally recognised government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council, was behind the requirement for UAE-bound flights to land for inspection in Jeddah.

Yemeni presidential adviser Thabet al-Ahmadi confirmed to Al Jazeera that it had imposed a requirement that applied to one flight route departing from Aden’s airport. He said the move was meant to prevent STC money smuggling.