EXCLUSIVE: The STC asserts that its troops have taken charge of all eight southern provinces and stand ready to act as Washington’s primary ally in combating , al-Qaeda-linked groups, and Muslim Brotherhood elements.

In an exclusive discussion with Digital, Ahmed Atef, who serves as the STC’s envoy to the US and UN, expressed the council’s desire for broadened collaboration with Washington across military, diplomatic, and economic spheres. “We welcome all forms of assistance,” he stated. “President Trump demonstrates great courage and strength, and we eagerly anticipate his backing.”

The STC has become the prevailing authority in southern Yemen, receiving substantial financial and military aid from the UAE, according to reports. Established in April 2017, it brings together groups aiming to restore an independent South Yemen, resurrecting the nation that existed from 1967 to 1990 before unification. The Associated Press reported that last week, the leader of Yemen’s internationally recognized administration demanded that the STC pull back from areas it recently seized in the country’s southeast.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that Yemen confronts a perilous new escalation after STC-affiliated troops made gains in the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and al-Mahra. Guterres warned that such unilateral moves could worsen splits, entrench stances, and hasten fragmentation, possibly affecting regional security in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Horn of Africa.

Bridget Toomey, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), informed Digital that US support for southern independence would conflict with “the declared policy of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is founded on a unified Yemen.” She noted that while America backs that administration, supporting the STC as a counterterrorism ally and in battling the Houthis “might not necessarily contradict the government,” especially since the STC and its leaders participate in the existing governing structure.

Yemen’s conflict has long split the country. In the north, the Houthis govern Sanaa and much of western Yemen with Iranian backing and connections to Hezbollah. In the south, forces aligned with the STC control Aden, the provisional capital, and a stretch of interior and coastal areas encompassing Lahj, Abyan, Shabwa, Hadramout, and al-Mahra.

The internationally recognized Yemeni administration, which America continues to back, is officially headquartered in Aden but remains divided. The Saudi-supported Presidential Leadership Council functions as the acknowledged power and has depended extensively on a coalition of rival groups, including the STC, to rule, fight the Houthis, and preserve territorial control.

Toomey observed, “The administration has encountered severe economic, supervisory, and capability difficulties and has failed to provide essential services, a problem exacerbated by the continuing war against the Houthis and Yemen’s larger humanitarian emergency.”

This dependence has attracted criticism. Yemen’s internationally recognized government has charged STC-linked troops with conducting lethal assaults in Hadramout and cautioned that the group’s recent growth could trigger clashes between competing factions within the anti-Houthi alliance. The Associated Press reported that Yemeni authorities called on the STC to retreat from eastern territories it captured, warning that independent actions might sabotage the political track and upset the delicate equilibrium in the south.

Atef dismissed these allegations, portraying the Hadramout campaign as a significant victory that proved the STC’s capacity to combat what he termed hostile elements working in tandem with the Houthis. He charged those elements with partnering with “Houthi terrorists” and insisted that the STC’s measures enhanced rather than weakened security.

Atef characterized the Houthis as a source of instability far beyond Yemen’s frontiers.

“They promote this chant of ‘death to America, death to Israel,’ which is completely intolerable,” he remarked. He cautioned that as long as the Houthis hold Sanaa, they will “keep menacing , keep menacing us in the South and Saudi Arabia, and keep menacing the UAE and the Gulf region.”

He also charged with colluding with external extremist organizations, including Somalia’s al-Shabab, and with obtaining training and .

STC President Aidarous al-Zubaidi has promised aid to northern Yemeni factions aiming to “re-liberate Sanaa,” Atef noted, rejecting the possibility of a negotiated political resolution. “That’s not feasible,” he declared. “We will speak the language the Houthis comprehend.”

Atef consistently positioned the STC as an ideal American ally in counterterrorism and regional stability. He commended President for labeling the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization and for initiatives aimed at Muslim Brotherhood factions.

“Yemen has the Muslim Brotherhood. We view them as terrorists. We believe they fund terrorism,” Atef stated, noting his support for recent legislation to designate certain overseas Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist groups, but he contended the organization is “extremist everywhere, even in America. Not just in those chapters.”

Atef also indicated that the STC plans to open its , agricultural, fishing, and tourism sectors to US firms as a route to long-term independence. “We encourage American companies to come explore the oil fields and assist us in generating income to develop our population,” he said.

The STC’s ultimate goal, Atef stressed, is a sovereign, Western-oriented South Yemen capable of protecting its territory while aiding efforts to counter Iranian regional influence.

“Once this front against the Houthis is reinforced and bolstered with backing from the international community and America,” he remarked, “it will greatly assist us on the ground to sustain our struggle and establish stability and peace in the region.”