Yemen’s UAE-allied separatist leader flees to Abu Dhabi via Somaliland
Yemen’s secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) leader Aidrous al-Zubaidi has fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland after missing scheduled peace negotiations in Riyadh, the Saudi-led coalition said.
In a statement on Thursday, the coalition backing the so-called Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) said Zubaidi made a nighttime departure on Wednesday, boarding a maritime vessel from the southern Yemeni city of Aden to the port of Berbera in Somaliland before going to the UAE.
Upon arrival in Somaliland, Zubaidi contacted an officer known as Abu Saeed, who was later identified as Major General Awad Saeed al-Ahbabi, commander of the UAE Joint Operations.
The coalition added that an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft was already positioned to receive Zubaidi and those accompanying him.
Zubaidi then took a flight along with Emirati officers to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
According to the statement, the plane’s identification systems were deliberately disabled while crossing over the Sea of Oman, only to be reactivated ten minutes before landing at al-Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi.
The coalition said the aircraft involved is typically used on routes linked to conflict zones, including Libya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
The STC and the UAE did not provide an immediate comment.
The Saudi military separately issued a statement alleging that the UAE smuggled Zubaidi out of Yemen and flew him to Abu Dhabi.
In a rare move, the statement identified an Emirati general by his nom de guerre as being involved in the operation to whisk the separatist leader out of Yemen.
If confirmed, the move could further escalate tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which surfaced when the Abu Dhabi-allied STC separatists launched an attack on the so-called Homeland Shield Forces backed by Riyadh in December.
On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had carried out strikes in Yemen’s southern al-Dhale governorate, targeting a site which sources said was used as an arms depot by Zubaidi.
The coalition stated that the aerial assaults in al-Dhale were conducted as proactive measures in collaboration with the Homeland Shield Forces, aiming to beef up security in the region.
The Saudi-backed forces recaptured the southeastern provinces of Hadhramaut and Mahra from STC militants earlier this week. The two regions, which account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory, were seized by STC separatists last month.
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