Aden Unrest: Protesting Soldiers Clash With Transitional Council Over Payroll Purges

Dozens of soldiers staged a protest march in Aden on Tuesday evening against their removal from the payrolls of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, demanding reinstatement and payment in parity with their colleagues.

Local sources informed Al-Khabar News Agency that the procession began in the Al-Mansoura district, traversing key thoroughfares before blocking vital routes connecting the districts of Sira, Al-Mualla, and Khormaksar, causing temporary disruption to traffic flow.

The protesters subsequently advanced toward the Maashiq Palace, the seat of the Yemeni government, marking a direct escalation against the administration. Sources indicated that security forces accompanied the march from its inception to ensure that infiltrators did not exploit the demonstration to instigate disorder.

Sources further clarified that military leadership within the STC forces had purged hundreds of soldiers in recent months under the pretext of unauthorized absence. However, these same leaders, according to sources, are now attempting to redirect the soldiers' grievances toward the internationally recognized government amidst escalating political tensions in the city.

Other sources suggested that STC commanders blamed Saudi Arabia for the payroll deletions, referencing the Kingdom's role in disbursing salaries for these forces in Saudi Riyals—a claim that private sources have refuted.

This unrest coincides with the return of Defense Minister Major General (R) Taher Al-Aqili to Aden as part of the new government led by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, a return vehemently opposed by the STC, which insists on excluding ministers from outside the southern governorates. This opposition escalated to issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for Al-Aqili to leave Aden.

Earlier on Tuesday, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Lieutenant General (R) Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, held a meeting with military leaders in Aden, attended by the Defense Minister, to discuss enhancing security and unifying military command, according to an official statement.

Aden is currently experiencing mounting political and security friction as government members gradually resume their duties in ministerial offices, set against calls for further escalation and official warnings against the situation deteriorating into widespread security chaos.