Aden (South24 Center)

On Sunday, December 21, government ministries and officials in Aden publicly voiced their support for the steps toward the declaration of the South Arabia state. This public endorsement underscores the growing institutional support for the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the direction of its political agenda.

The Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism said in a statement issued by Deputy Minister Salah Al-Aqil that it supports the demands of the people of the south to restore their state, affirming its backing for measures taken by the Southern Armed Forces to secure Hadramout and Al-Mahra and reinforce stability.

Minister of Civil Service and Pensions Abdulnasser Al-Wali expressed his full support for the leadership of the STC, pledging to protect citizens’ employment and financial rights, including salaries, pensions, allowances, and recruitment, according to what he described as fair and equitable standards.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor also announced its support for the STC’s steps, praising what it described as recent security achievements by the Southern forces in Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and confirming its readiness to work under the Council’s leadership toward the establishment of the South Arabia State.

In the same context, Deputy Minister of Water and Environment Mujahid bin Afarar and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Salem Al-Socotri expressed their support for the STC and Southern forces, and their backing for steps toward declaring the South Arabia State.

These positions coincided with the continuation of open-ended public demonstrations in Aden and other cities, calling for the restoration of an independent state within the pre-1990 borders.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Civil Service are part of the STC’s ministerial share in the Yemeni government, while the Deputy Minister of Information and the Deputy Minister of Water and Environment are considered affiliated with the STC.

In a statement posted on X “Twitter”, Yemen’s Minister of Information, Ma’ammar Al-Eryani, who is based in Riyadh, rejected the statement issued from Aden, saying it does not represent the Ministry of Information.

In a related development, the head of the National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council, Ali Al-Kathiri, said he discussed the latest security and service-related developments in Hadramout with the Office of the UN Special Envoy.

Al-Kathiri stated that the Hadramout Wadi and Desert are witnessing normal security stability, denying reports of killings, abductions, or assassinations.

He added that Southern forces have secured the international roads linking Hadramout with Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, and Marib Governorate, stressing that there are no tensions between them and the National Shield forces or the Hadrami Elite Forces.