Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) will temporarily implement the terms of a previous peace deal with the Yemeni government to gain political leverage before ultimately returning to its pursuit of an independent southern Yemen. The STC, which is an umbrella force of southern militias and secessionists, announced July 29 that it would abide by a Saudi-brokered political reconciliation agreement with its rivals in President Mansoor Hadi's internationally recognized government. The announcement came a few hours after Saudi Arabia announced its plans to “accelerate” the implementation of the power-sharing agreement signed last year in Riyadh, which demands the STC end its attempts at self-rule in exchange for more posts in the government.

The STC is signaling its interest to carry out the Riyadh agreement in response to Emirati and Saudi pressure. Distrust and division between the Hadi government and the STC have hampered the implementation of the agreement since it was signed in the Saudi capital last year. The STC has regularly exploited opportunities to make further territorial and political gains, resulting in several military skirmishes since the Saudi-led intervention began in 2015. In its latest move in April, the STC declared full autonomy in the former provinces of South Yemen. But Saudi Arabia and the STC's primary military backer, the United Arab Emirates, have increasingly voiced their desire to stabilize factionalism within Yemen so that they can reduce their involvement in the country's civil war.

The STC also seeks to temporarily take advantage of the negotiation process to take important posts and ministries in the new government that would enhance the group's political power. Gaining seats in the Hadi government's cabinet will be a boost to the STC's legitimacy, allowing its officials to take control of important social and public services that they could then better steer toward their supporters. Through these posts, the STC would also have more direct access to Saudi, Emirati and international aid, which flows through Yemen's nominally Hadi-controlled central bank based in Aden. The group would also potentially gain more experience in running a government on a larger scale, as the STC currently only controls the province of Aden and an assortment of small towns and cities.

Despite this new willingness to work with the Hadi government in the near term, it appears the STC and its supporters still seek an eventual restoration of an either autonomous or independent southern Yemen. The group has yet to announce the abandonment of its public goal of secession, which will continue to drive rifts between the STC and the Hadi government. This will, in turn, raise the risk for more conflict in the future by maintaining the long-standing north-south tensions underpinning Yemen's ongoing conflict.