ADEN, Yemen/RIYADH, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Thursday that Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), secretly fled the country and traveled to Somalia before reaching the United Arab Emirates after failing to attend planned peace talks in Riyadh.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said on X that intelligence showed Al-Zubaidi and others left the Yemeni port city of Aden after midnight Wednesday aboard a vessel, sailing toward Berbera in Somaliland. He said the ship switched off its identification systems en route and arrived around noon.
According to the coalition, Al-Zubaidi contacted an Emirati military officer upon arrival in Berbera before boarding a military aircraft. The plane departed without announcing a destination.
The aircraft landed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in the afternoon, remained on the ground for roughly an hour, then took off again. The coalition said the plane switched off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman and reactivated them shortly before landing at the Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi later that evening.
Coalition forces said they are continuing to track information related to several Yemeni figures believed to have been among the last to meet Al-Zubaidi in Aden, adding that contact with them has since been lost.
If verified, Al-Zubaidi's departure could deepen strains between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose interests in Yemen have increasingly diverged. Tensions escalated in December after STC forces seized control of the oil-rich Hadramout province in Yemen and neighboring Al-Mahrah province from troops loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government.
Formed in 2017 and widely seen as backed by the United Arab Emirates, the STC seeks autonomy and eventual independence for southern Yemen. ■
