Rift erupts within Riyadh-based STC leadership over Mukalla crackdown

RIYADH, April 09 (YPA) – Major disputes have surfaced among leaders of the “dissolved” Southern Transitional Council (STC) based in Riyadh, sparked by a statement attributed to the council condemning the suppression of a mass rally in Mukalla by pro-Saudi forces, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The sources confirmed that five leaders of the dissolved STC presidency have officially rejected the statement, emphasizing that it “does not represent them and was not collectively agreed upon.”

This division was emerged after some leaders published the statement on their official channels, while others refused to endorse or promote it, highlighting an unprecedented political fracture among the STC leaders, who have been in Riyadh since early January under the banner of the “South–South dialogue.”

The information suggested that Saudi Arabia had effectively dismantled the STC’s leadership, causing internal divisions among those placed under “house arrest” in Riyadh since January.

The disputes among the STC’s leadership intensified following the events in Mukalla last Saturday, where the council’s gathering was violently suppressed with live fire by pro-Saudi forces, resulting in five deaths and several injuries, alongside a widespread campaign of arrests targeting dozens of supporters opposing what they called “Saudi guardianship” over the southern provinces.

AA