The leader of Yemen’s southern separatists failed to travel to Riyadh for crisis talks on Wednesday, leaving his fate unclear and complicating efforts to contain a military escalation that has widened a rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), did not board a scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at defusing tensions in southern Yemen. Reuters was unable to verify his whereabouts.
The STC said Zubaidi was overseeing military and security operations in the southern port city of Aden. Shortly afterwards, Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council expelled him from its ranks and accused him of treason.
However, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said al-Zubaidi, left for Somaliland aboard a vessel and then boarded a plane to Somalia's Mogadishu.
The plane that took him to Mogadishu waited for an hour and then flew to a military airport in Abu Dhabi, the coalition said in a statement on Thursday, without specifying whether al-Zubaidi was still on board.
Senior STC official Amr al-Beidh said Saudi Arabia had warned it would bomb Aden if Zubaidi did not attend the talks. Riyadh did not immediately respond to the claim.
Another STC official said members of the delegation had arrived in Riyadh and that meetings would proceed, though it remained unclear who would lead the group.
Saudi-backed government forces were reported advancing towards Aden, while the Saudi-led coalition said it carried out limited pre-emptive airstrikes in al-Dhalea province after monitoring movements of armed groups. Local and STC sources reported more than 15 strikes.
The developments have dashed hopes of a swift resolution to fighting that erupted last month between the STC and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, exposing sharp divisions within the coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
The crisis has escalated into a rare open rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, long-time allies in Yemen. The UAE, which has backed the STC since its formation in 2017, withdrew its forces from Yemen last month following pressure from Riyadh.
On Wednesday, Yemen’s presidential council also dismissed Aden’s governor, Ahmed Lamlas, imposed a citywide curfew, and appointed a replacement, according to state media.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE first intervened in Yemen more than a decade ago after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. The conflict has since evolved into one of the Middle East’s most complex wars, with competing regional interests reshaping alliances on the ground.
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