Yemen leader al-Alimi warns separatist push risks "rebellion," regional chaos

The head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, issued a dire warning on Tuesday, accusing the powerful southern separatist movement of crossing a red line from political partnership into open rebellion. As the Southern Transitional Council (STC) tightens its military grip on nearly half the country's territory, al-Alimi charged that its actions now endanger not only Yemen's fragile unity but also the security of neighboring states and vital international maritime trade routes.

From Partnership to "Rebellion" and Political Subversion

Addressing Yemeni diplomats in a meeting cited by the state-run SABA news agency, al-Alimi declared the crisis had reached a "dangerous stage." He condemned what he described as a coordinated campaign to coerce state institutions into endorsing the country's division. "Under no circumstances can partnership in governance turn into rebellion against the state or an attempt to impose reality by force," he stated. This internal subversion was highlighted as several ministers and senior officials within al-Alimi's own government publicly declared support for the STC's secessionist agenda, a move a government source called a unilateral breach of official policy.

A Direct Threat to Global Shipping and Regional Stability

Alimi's warning explicitly linked Yemen's internal collapse to international security, a critical concern for global powers. He argued that the STC's unilateral measures compromise Yemen's commitments to its neighbors and directly undermine international efforts to protect commercial shipping, energy supplies, and maritime corridors in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. This frames the Yemeni conflict not as a localized civil war but as a potential catalyst for disruption in some of the world's most strategically important waterways, echoing ongoing Houthi threats to navigation.

The STC's Expanding Control and a Nation on the Brink

The political crisis follows decisive military action by the STC, which seized control of the resource-rich Hadramout province on December 3 and extended its authority over neighboring Mahra province days later. Together, these regions constitute roughly half of Yemen's landmass. The takeovers have triggered local and regional demands for withdrawal and drawn a stark warning from the United Nations that further escalation will worsen what is already one of the planet's most severe humanitarian catastrophes. Alimi's speech reflects the mounting desperation of the internationally recognized government as it faces dissolution from within and territorial amputation from the south.