Aden| south24

President of the South Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Supreme Commander of the Southern Armed Forces, Aidroos Al-Zubaidi, stressed that the council is moving forward with implementing its self-rule decision.

Speaking on the third anniversary of Aden's historic declaration, Al-Zubaidi pledged to protect the state institutions and implement self-rule measures, which he announced last week.

The STC is keen to “come out with gains from every stage … until ensuring full protection for the south”, he said in a statement.

Al-Zubaidi said that the Yemeni government practiced "systematic collective punishment by disrupting the work of public institutions and basic services, stopping salaries and rampant corruption, in addition to not finding any serious remedies for the currency collapse crisis and its implications for the national economy, despite our continuous warnings since 2018.

He explained that the STC forces will fight a battle to control all state institutions and resources, calling on “the liberation and independence forces” to participate actively in the battle.

On 25 April, the STC announced that it would establish self-rule in regions under their control including the strategic city of Aden which has been the seat of the internationally backed, exiled government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

- MEM, SOUTH24