Yemen Separatist Leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi Escapes to UAE with Assistance
The Saudi-led alliance in Yemen against the Houthi rebels confirmed that the separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi has fled with the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and eventually arrived in Abu Dhabi. According to reports from Reuters, Zubaidi, the chairman of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) backed by the UAE, escaped Yemen by boat and then boarded a flight to Mogadishu, Somalia, with the plane ultimately landing at a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
On Wednesday (7th), Zubaidi was notably absent from a meeting held in Riyadh aimed at stabilizing the situation in southern Yemen, and the dramatic turn of events is intensifying the division between the two major powers in the Gulf region – Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The STC claims that Zubaidi was coerced to go to Saudi Arabia under threat. Saudi Arabia accuses the UAE of assisting Zubaidi’s escape, escalating the crisis that erupted last month when the STC forces launched a massive offensive in southern Yemen, nearing the Saudi border.
The rapid escalation of events has led to the public split between the former allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and jeopardized the alliance led by the internationally recognized Yemeni government against the Iran-backed Houthi militants.
Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are allies of the United States in the Middle East, but they have disagreements on various sensitive issues, which have come to the forefront with the outbreak of the Yemen crisis.
Senior official of the STC, Mohammed Al Ghaith, stated that the delegation had a productive meeting with the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh. He hinted on social media that there might be internal divisions within the separatist organization.
As tensions rise between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, efforts to stabilize the situation in southern Yemen become more complex. The Saudi-led alliance stated in a press release on Thursday (8th) that Zubaidi and others traveling with him from Somaliland to Mogadishu waited under the supervision of UAE officials for an hour before flying to the military airport in Abu Dhabi.
However, the statement did not explicitly clarify whether Zubaidi is still en route to the UAE’s capital. If reports of Zubaidi appearing in the UAE capital are confirmed, it may anger Saudi Arabia, which had pressured the UAE to restrain the STC’s offensive in Yemen.
The UAE has withdrawn the remaining troops from Yemen and has called for easing the tension facing Yemen. The Saudi-led alliance mentioned in the statement that the aircraft taking off from Mogadishu had its identification system turned off over the Gulf of Oman until 10 minutes before landing at the Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi.
The statement also mentioned the names of UAE military officers that Zubaidi sought assistance from. On Wednesday, the Saudi-led alliance confirmed that Zubaidi did not board the plane to Riyadh for the meeting as planned, and his whereabouts were unknown, casting a shadow over efforts to contain last month’s military escalation in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the STC organization claimed that Zubaidi was overseeing military and security operations in the southern port city of Aden. The Saudi-led alliance added that the aircraft Zubaidi travelled on was similar to the models used on flight routes in conflict areas such as Ethiopia, Libya, and Somalia.
Since the Houthi rebels seized control of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in 2014, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have intervened in Yemen affairs. With Saudi support, Yemen formed the Presidential Leadership Council in April 2022 to lead the fight against the Houthi militants. The UAE joined the Saudi-led alliance the following year, supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Established in 2017 with UAE backing, the Southern Transitional Council eventually joined the Yemeni government coalition controlling southern and eastern Yemen.