{"id":226643,"date":"2026-01-08T04:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/226643\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T04:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:53:08","slug":"saudi-led-coalition-says-stcs-al-zubaidi-fled-to-uae-via-somaliland-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/226643\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi-led coalition says STC\u2019s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, <\/p>\n

Secessionist leader took a boat to Berbera and then boarded a plane that flew to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu, coalition says.<\/p>\n

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Published On 8 Jan 20268 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

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The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen has announced that the leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council<\/a> (STC) has fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland after skipping<\/a> planned peace talks in Riyadh.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Thursday, the coalition said\u00a0Aidarous al-Zubaidi<\/a> \u201cescaped in the dead of night\u201d on Wednesday on board a vessel that departed Aden in Yemen for the port of Berbera in Somaliland.<\/p>\n

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Al-Zubaidi then boarded a plane along with UAE officers and flew to Somalia\u2019s capital, Mogadishu. \u201cThe plane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, then turned it back on 10 minutes prior to arrival at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate comment from the STC or the UAE.<\/p>\n

If confirmed, the move could deepen the feud between Saudi Arabia and the UAE that came to light after the Abu Dhabi-backed STC launched an offensive against the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government troops in December.<\/p>\n

The STC \u2013 which initially supported Yemen\u2019s internationally recognised government against the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen \u2013 is seeking an independent state in southern Yemen. It seized the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, which border Saudi Arabia, in a campaign that Riyadh described as a red line for its national security.<\/p>\n

The Saudi-led coalition responded with air strikes<\/a> on the Yemeni port of Mukalla on December 30, targeting what it called a UAE-linked weapons shipment, and backed a call by Yemen\u2019s internationally recognised government for Emirati forces to withdraw from the country.<\/p>\n

For its part, Abu Dhabi denied that the shipment contained weapons and expressed a commitment to ensure Riyadh\u2019s security. On the same day, it announced an end to what it called its \u201ccounterterrorism mission\u201d in Yemen.<\/p>\n

Yemeni government troops, backed by Saudi Arabian air attacks, went on to reclaim Hadramout and Mahra, and the STC said on Saturday that it would attend peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

But the coalition said al-Zubaidi was not on board the Yemeni Air flight that took the STC delegation to Riyadh on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

It launched strikes on al-Zubaidi\u2019s forces in Yemen\u2019s Dhale governorate, while Yemeni government\u2019s ground forces moved on the STC controlled Aden and seized the presidential palace in the city.<\/p>\n

The head of the internationally recognised government\u2019s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has meanwhile announced that al-Zubaidi has been removed from the council for \u201ccommitting high treason\u201d.<\/p>\n

Al-Alimi said he has asked the country\u2019s attorney general to launch an investigation against al-Zubaidi and take legal action.<\/p>\n

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