The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen announced that Aidarous al-Zubaidi, leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland after skipping planned peace talks in Riyadh.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi Flees Yemen
According to the coalition, al-Zubaidi “escaped in the dead of night” on Wednesday aboard a vessel that departed Aden in Yemen for the port of Berbera in Somaliland. He then boarded a plane with UAE officers and flew to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The statement indicated the plane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, reactivating them ten minutes before landing at Al reef military airport in Abu Dhabi.
Neither the STC nor the UAE have issued immediate comments regarding the situation.
This move could exacerbate tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which surfaced after the Abu Dhabi-backed STC launched an offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops in December. The STC, initially allied with Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, is seeking an independent state in southern Yemen.
In December, the STC seized control of the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, bordering Saudi Arabia, a move Riyadh deemed a threat to its national security. The Saudi-led coalition responded with air strikes on the Yemeni port of Mukalla on December 30, targeting a shipment it alleged was linked to UAE forces, and supported a call for Emirati forces to withdraw from Yemen.
Abu Dhabi denied the weapons claim and affirmed its commitment to Saudi security, announcing the end of its “counterterrorism mission” in Yemen on the same day. Yemeni government troops, supported by Saudi air strikes, subsequently reclaimed Hadramout and Mahra, leading the STC to agree to attend peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia.
A delegation from the STC, excluding al-Zubaidi, departed Yemen for Riyadh on Wednesday. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the internationally recognized government’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced al-Zubaidi’s removal from the council for “committing high treason.”
Al-Alimi has requested the country’s Attorney General to investigate al-Zubaidi and pursue legal action.
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