Updates: Government forces control multiple cities in southern Yemen

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We will be closing this live page soon. Here is a recap of today’s main events.

• Hadhramaut Governor Salem al-Khanbashi announced that the government’s “Homeland Shield” forces have completed securing the districts of Wadi Hadramout and Shaharah in Hadhramaut governorate.
• The director-general of the Youth Office for al-Mahra governorate, Mohammed Omar Suwailam, told Anadolu news agency that Homeland Shield forces have taken control of all nine districts of the governorate following the withdrawal of STC forces.
• The Homeland Shield forces have begun receiving heavy weapons from Southern Transitional Council (STC) units in al-Mahra governorate, according to Yemeni state television.
• Yemen’s internationally recognised government says the STC’s restrictions on residents’ movements to Aden are a grave violation of the constitution and a breach of the Riyadh Agreement.
• At least 80 STC soldiers have been killed in fighting with Saudi-backed forces and strikes since Friday, said a military official from the group told AFP news agency.

Presidential Leadership Council (PLC): Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-backed governing body, formed to unite anti-Houthi forces.

Southern Transitional Council (STC): A UAE-backed southern separatist group that has recently seized territory in parts of southern Yemen. While it opposes the Houthis and is represented within the PLC, it is pushing for independence for the south.

Saudi Arabia: Leads a coalition backing the Yemeni government and the PLC, and has played a central role in the war since intervening in 2015. Riyadh backs a unified and stable Yemen.

United Arab Emirates (UAE): A key coalition member that has backed the STC and other southern forces, despite officially withdrawing its military presence earlier today.

Houthis: An armed group that controls Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and much of the north. It has been fighting the internationally recognised government since seizing power in 2014.

Iran: Backs the Houthis politically and militarily, according to Western governments.

Video shows Saudi-backed forces advancing towards the Yemeni city of Mukalla, seizing new areas in Hadhramout.

Watch the video below:

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has released a statement regarding alleged restrictions imposed by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the port city of Aden in southern Yemen.

Here are there translated comments:

• The Southern Transitional Council’s restrictions on citizens’ movement to Aden are a grave violation of the constitution and a breach of the Riyadh Agreement and the constitution.
• We call on the Southern Transitional Council to immediately and unconditionally end all restrictions on the movement of citizens.
• We affirm that the state will take measures to protect civilians and guarantee freedom of movement.

The governor of Hadramaut, Salem Ahmed Said al-Khanbashi, has arrived at Seiyun Airport in Wadi Hadramout, eastern Yemen, after the Homeland Shield forces took control of the region, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting.

Just a few months ago, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) could have said that an independent state was still on the table.

But now their troops have been routed by air strikes and they are losing ground. So when they go to Saudi Arabia, they will have to accept that the internationally recognised government will have a bigger say.

I’ve been travelling across Yemen for many year. In the south, pro-independence sentiment has long been on the rise. You have to convince people there that whatever the outcome, their concerns will be addressed.

But the biggest concern for the international community is that without stability in Yemen, radical groups could take over, leading to even greater instability across the country.

I believe the STC realised this was the beginning of the end when they saw their forces completely routed in several areas, particularly in Hadramout and al-Mahra.

With Saudi Arabia firmly backing the internationally recognised government, the STC was left with two options: either fight to the end — knowing that, under Saudi air and political cover, it would likely be only a matter of days before they lost – or go to Riyadh for talks.

Most Arab countries and the wider international community have endorsed the Saudi-led initiative to launch talks between Yemeni factions in Riyadh, and the outcome is ultimately expected to be shaped by Saudi Arabia.

Life is gradually returning to normal in the city of Seiyoun following recent fighting, our colleagues on the ground are reporting.

Government offices have officially reopened and executive directors have resumed their duties after a temporary suspension prompted by developments on the ground, our reporter added.

Local sources told Al Jazeera that the resumption of work is part of efforts to reactivate state institutions and ensure the continued provision of services to citizens, amid official calls to maintain stability and comply with work regulations in public facilities.

1990: South Yemen, the Arab world’s only communist state, unifies with the north after years of division.

1994: Tensions resurface before southern leaders try to secede and are defeated by forces loyal to then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

2014: The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, take over large swaths of Yemeni territory, including the capital, Sanaa.

2017: The STC is formed from factions within the southern movement and is backed by the United Arab Emirates.

2020: The STC declares self-rule in the south.

December 2025: Tensions escalate when the STC seizes parts of Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces. Riyadh warns it views the STC’s growing presence in these provinces, which border Saudi Arabia, as a threat to its national security.

At least 80 troops from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) have been killed in fighting with Saudi-backed forces and strikes since Friday, a military official from the group told AFP news agency.

At least 152 members of the UAE-backed STC forces were wounded, 130 were taken captive, and the fates of 500 fighters were still unknown, the official added, following the start of the operation on Friday, which saw strikes by Saudi warplanes to retake territory seized by the secessionists.

Al Jazeera’s Yemen affairs editor, Ahmed al-Shalafi, says major shifts have taken place in Yemen’s political and military landscape over the past day.

“In the last 24 hours, the political and battlefield map in Yemen have changed,” he reported.

“The Yemeni Army and the Homeland Shield Forces were able to enter the battlefield and interfere militarily to resolve the conflict on the ground. The political action came second, when the Yemeni government invited the Southern Transitional Council for a conference in Saudi Arabia.”

Southern Transitional Council (STC), a southern separatist movement that says it aims to hold a referendum on independence within two years, as Saudi-backed forces seek to regain territory the group seized last month.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government – the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) – has criticised the STC, describing its recent seizure of territory as “unilateral” actions and a “blatant violation of the transitional phase’s framework”.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2015, primarily between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised government.

While the UAE-backed STC opposes the Houthis and is represented within the PLC, it has long called for the separation of southern Yemen, highlighting deep divisions within the anti-Houthi camp.

The Director General of the Youth Office for al-Mahra Governorate, Mohammed Omar Suwailam, told Anadolu news agency that Homeland Shield forces have taken control of all nine districts of the governate following the withdrawal of STC forces.

Yemen has seen an unprecedented escalation since Tuesday, after the STC forces took control of Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra in early December.

The two provinces account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory and share borders with Saudi Arabia.

Hadhramaut Governor Salem al-Khanbashi announced that government “Homeland Shield” forces have completed securing the districts of Wadi Hadhramaut and Shaharah.

He said these forces have now been deployed to all vital locations, including Sayun International Airport and other key government and public service facilities.

Moreover, Yemeni state television reported that Homeland Shield forces have entered the city of Mukalla and deployed across its streets.

Al Jazeera sources said Yemeni government forces now control Riyan International Airport in Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout governorate.

• Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi announced that the government’s “Homeland Shield” forces have completed securing the districts of Wadi Hadramawt and Shaharah.
• Al-Khanbashi also said these forces have been deployed to all vital locations, including Seiyun International Airport and other key government and public service facilities.
• In al-Mahra Governorate, the Director General of the Youth Office, Mohammed Omar Suwailam, told Anadolu news agency that the Homeland Shield forces have taken control of all nine districts of al-Mahra after the withdrawal of Southern Transitional Council forces.
• Saudi Arabia welcomed a request by Yemen’s internationally recognised government to convene a conference in Riyadh bringing together all factions to seek a solution to the southern issue.
• Yemen’s southern separatist movement said it aims to hold a referendum on independence from the north within two years.

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