Aden -- Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) said that it is getting closer to declaring an independent state in the south.

“The south is approaching a decisive moment embodied by the declaration of a state, and this hope has become nearly complete,” Ali al-Kathiri, head of the STC’s National Assembly, said on Saturday during a meeting with local dignitaries and tribal figures from Hadramout, as cited by the council’s official website.

He called for “fortifying the internal front against any chaos or divisions in order to preserve the achievements made,” he added.

Addressing local and regional calls for the withdrawal of STC forces from Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen, Kathiri claimed that the STC “has not attacked anyone.”

“The people of the south are defending their land, which they liberated,” he said.

Kathiri expressed willingness to “maintain relations with brothers in the Arab Coalition countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”

He, however, expressed rejection of “any attempts to break the will of the people of the south by parties that failed to liberate their own areas and are seeking to liquidate the cause of the southern people,” in reference to the internationally recognized government fighting the Houthi group.

There was no immediate comment from the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia or the UAE on the comments.

Since Dec. 3, the STC forces have taken control of parts of Hadramout following clashes with the Hadramout Tribes Alliance First Military Region forces. Four days later, STC forces expanded their control to Mahra.