Aden (South24 Center)

The Southern Transitional Council (STC), through its local leadership in the capital, Aden, called for a public rally on Thursday evening (February 19) in front of the eastern gate of Maashiq Palace (the government headquarters) at 10:00 p.m., in rejection of the presence of northern ministers in Aden.

The call coincided with a main statement issued at dawn on Thursday by the STC spokesperson, who described the arrival of “northern ministers whose history has been linked to invasion, occupation, and looting” in Aden as “a blatant challenge to the will of our people” and “a disregard for their legitimate demands for self-determination.”

The statement warned that this presence “will inevitably lead to an escalation of popular resentment,” “raise the level of tension,” and “threaten the stability of our land.”

Using sharp warning language, the statement asserted that “the continued disregard of our legitimate demands and the imposition of a reality that does not reflect our will will inevitably lead to an explosion of public anger in the Southern street,” emphasizing that this anger “cannot be stopped or controlled by anyone.”

It added that “belittling the rights of our people will place the region as a whole before serious challenges with unforeseeable consequences,” stressing that “the voice of the South today is the voice of a final warning.”

The new Yemeni government was announced on February 6 and includes an expanded formation of 35 ministers, among them figures affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Defense Minister Taher Al-Aqili, who recently arrived in Aden.