Aden (South24 Center)

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Military forces shut down three offices affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the interim capital Aden on Sunday and Monday (February 22–23), preventing employees from entering the premises, according to sources.

The sources said the closures included the General Assembly headquarters, the Foreign Affairs Authority, and the General Secretariat—among the Council’s main institutions in the city.

The official spokesman of the Southern Transitional Council, Anwar Al-Tamimi, accused Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi of issuing directives preventing employees of the General Secretariat from accessing their headquarters. In a statement issued late Tuesday evening, he described the move as a “blatant assault” on national political institutions.

The statement said that preventing General Secretariat staff from entering on Monday, and blocking the General Assembly and the Foreign Affairs Authority on Sunday, constituted a “clear attempt to impose a new reality by military force on southern institutions and disrupt their role.”

It added that “attempts to paralyze the role of southern institutions are unacceptable and will not pass without a responsible response,” stressing that “the masses of the southern people will not accept targeting institutional work or obstructing its national and political role.”

In a separate statement, the STC General Secretariat held the parties that issued and carried out the directives “fully responsible for this dangerous escalation and its repercussions,” warning that the continuation of what it described as provocative practices would deepen tensions and create further unrest.

For its part, the Foreign Affairs Authority condemned what it called an “arbitrary decision by parties within the Presidential Leadership Council to close all STC offices in Aden,” warning that the escalation could create an environment benefiting the Houthi group and extremist organizations.

The STC’s National Assembly headquarters had previously been closed on January 29 before being reopened following widespread protests in Aden.

These developments come amid rising tensions in the South following protests in Aden and Ataq in recent days, which were met with the use of lethal force, resulting in fatalities and injuries.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Leadership Council said on Monday that it would respond to any attempt to disrupt state institutions in Aden or use the street to achieve illegitimate political objectives, pledging to launch a comprehensive investigation into the recent events.