UAE-backed southern Yemen separatists to hold independence referendum Submitted by Sean Mathews on Fri, 01/02/2026 - 17:19 Southern Transitional Council vows to succeed 'immediately' if it comes under attack again Off UAE -backed separatists in Yemen announced on Friday they will hold a referendum on independence amid deadly fighting with Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies. The Southern Transitional Council said it will start a two-year transitional period towards declaring an independent state after their forces seized large areas of the country's south in December. "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 the group would declare independence "immediately" if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen again came under attack. The announcement came after Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes on positions held by the STC in southeastern Yemen . At least seven people were killed and more than 20 others were also wounded as air strikes hit a camp in al-Khasah in Hadhramaut. The attacks came as forces backed by Riyadh launched an offensive to reclaim territory taken over by the STC in December. SCT forces seized large swathes of Yemen's south, run by a fractious government with competing agendas, in a lightning and largely unopposed offensive last month. The fighting has exposed the deteriorating ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two powerful Gulf states and US allies. Both countries intervened in Yemen a decade ago in a failed bid to oust the Houthi rebels from the country's north. More recently, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have fallen out over Yemen and Sudan while taking different approaches to Israel's war on Gaza and the new government of Syria. The STC's announcement comes after Israel unilaterally recognised the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland as an independent state. Somaliland has deep military and political ties to the UAE. Inside Yemen News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0