SUMMARY
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) has usually been a member of the Forces of the Presidential Leadership Council (previously called Forces of Hadi). The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is the internationally recognized government of Yemen, but is considered a non-state actor since it lost control of the capital city of Sanaa to Ansarallah in 2015, according to UCDP definitions. The STC's primary goal was the creation of an independent South Yemen, and its participation in the PLC coalition was mainly due to its opposition to the Ansarallah Government of Yemen and pressure from its backers the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Tensions have repeatedly flared into open conflict between the STC and the PLC.
Fighting between the STC and the Forces of the PLC broke out in Aden town in late January 2018, after the STC had demanded the withdrawal of the Forces of Hadi from the town. STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaid declared his forces had "begun the process of overthrowing” Hadi’s rule over South Yemen. Only days later, however, they affirmed their support for the Hadi's government and its war with the Houthi-government, thus becoming part of the Forces of Hadi.
A new bout of fighting broke out on 7 August 2019, resulting in STC capturing Aden town, the interim capital of the Hadi government. On 25 October 2019, they again became part of the coalition which supported Hadi through a power-sharing agreement, through which the leadership of the STC was supposed to participate in the Hadi-led government. The agreement broke down amid disagreements over implementation in early 2020, however. On 26 April 2020, the STC broke with the Hadi government and announced it would establish self-rule in areas under its control. Widespread clashes broke out between the parties soon thereafter. On 10 December, a new power-sharing agreement was announced, resulting in the STC yet again joining the Hadi government.
The internationally recognized president of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Hadi, resigned in favor of a Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in April 2022. The forces that had supported him thus changed name from the Forces of Hadi to the Forces of the Presidential Leadership Council. Since becoming a founding member of the PLC, STC has had greater leeway in settling scores with rival factions in the PLC without any opposition from the PLC as a whole, meaning that fighting during 2022-2024 has been coded to temporary splinters from the PLC (see Giants Brigade, STC - Islah).
The STC declared the “Great Hadramawt Battle” on November 25 2025, marking a new break from the PLC. STC forcibly took control of Hadramawt, forcing PLC-forces into a rapid retreat. Immediately after securing Hadramawt, they surged into Mahrah, taking control of positions PLC forces abandoned without a fight. For a brief moment, STC held essentially all the areas that had made up South Yemen, and members of the group were openly suggesting they might now declare independence. On 2 January 2026, it formally declared the independence of the 'State of South Arabia'.
Saudi Arabia directly intervened in support of the PLC, however, launching a campaign of airstrikes against the STC in late December and January. In combination with the strikes, intense Saudi diplomatic pressure on factions within the STC caused it to fracture, with several factions, including the Giants Brigades, defecting to the PLC. The Giants Brigades captured Aden on behalf of the PLC on 7 January, facing only limited resistance as the STC appeared to be in a state of collapse, with its leader reportedly fleeing to UAE. The PLC formally demanded the UAE's withdraw from Yemen in late December due to its support for the STC, and Saudi Arabia backed up the demand with an airstrike on a UAE military base in Yemen.
Amidst fighting with the PLC, STC was engaged in non-state conflicts with the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance (HTA) and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and in the intrastate South Yemen conflict against the Ansarallah-government.
