What happened
Leaders of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council have traveled to Washington to press U.S. officials to support an independent South Yemen. STC foreign affairs representative Amr al Bidh said in an interview that the war against the Houthis is effectively lost and that Washington should cut its losses rather than continue backing the internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council.
Bidh argued that northern political factions are unwilling to fight, leaving southern forces as the only effective anti-Houthi military presence. He said the front line now closely tracks the former border between North and South Yemen, with the Houthis controlling the Red Sea coast and surrounding Taiz.
The STC’s proposal calls for a transitional period leading to a referendum on independence, which the group hopes to hold by 2028. Bidh said the United States would not need to deploy troops or conduct airstrikes, but should convene regional powers to help freeze the conflict and create a defensive line against further Houthi expansion.
Yemen analysts quoted in the report expressed skepticism. One former Yemeni official said the Houthis appear intent on controlling all of Yemen, including historically southern territory, and would likely not accept a permanent southern state. Another adviser to Yemen’s Information Ministry warned that southern independence could give the Houthis a future justification to invade under the banner of national unity.
Bidh acknowledged that the STC’s position has shifted since July, when it called for more aggressive military action. He said recent counteroffensives, including one that briefly reached the Bab el Mandeb Strait, failed and weakened anti-Houthi forces.
