US EditionYemen separatist leader flees with Emirati help, Saudi coalition says
The UAE-backed separatist leader fled Yemen by boat and plane amid a power struggle; Saudi Arabia accuses UAE officers of facilitating his escape.
- On January 08, 2026, the Saudi-led coalition said intelligence showed Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled Aden late on January 7 by boat and was flown to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- The Presidential Leadership Council charged Zubaidi with high treason and removed him after last month's STC offensive alarmed Riyadh and triggered a Saudi response.
- Maritime records show the vessel switched off identification systems as Zubaidi boarded Bamedhaf after midnight, sailed to Berbera, then flew on an Ilyushin Il-76 to Mogadishu under UAE supervision.
- Saudi officials publicly detailed their version of events, accusing the United Arab Emirates of orchestrating a covert extraction that intensified tensions; Riyadh struck an Emirati shipment to Mukalla and increased airstrikes on separatist positions, with Saudi media amplifying the claims.
- Analysts warn the split could prolong instability and threaten regional security and Red Sea shipping lanes after Yemen's conflict claimed more than 150,000 lives.
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72 Articles
Riyadh says Yemeni separatist leader has fled
• Saudi-backed coalition tracks Al Zubaidi’s escape by boat, then by plane• Presidential council ousts him; pursues high treason charges• Deep rifts emerge within Southern Transitional Council ADEN: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that southern separatist leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has fled the country by boat, as government forces advanced on the port city of Aden. The coalition said in a statement that Zubaidi travelled fr…
What We’re Watching: Yemeni separatist leader flees to Abu Dhabi, & More
Yemeni separatist leader flees, exacerbating UAE-Saudi Arabia tensionsYesterday, we reported that Yemen’s civil war is exposing tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The bad blood looks set to get worse, after the UAE – according to the Saudis – helped the separatist Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi flee to Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia, before taking him to Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Yemeni for…
Saudi-backed forces move to capture key Yemeni city as crisis with UAE deepens
By Mostafa Salem, CNN (CNN) — Saudi-backed forces moved to capture a key southern Yemeni city on Thursday after Riyadh accused the UAE of helping a separatist leader flee. Citing “reliable intelligence,” the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said the leader of Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, left the country by boat “in the dead of night” for Somaliland, before boarding an aircraft to Mogadishu, which late…
Saudi Official Accuses U.A.E. of Helping Yemeni Separatist to Escape
Saudi Arabia on Thursday accused its neighbor and ally, the United Arab Emirates, of helping a separatist leader wanted on treason charges to escape Yemen, a claim that escalates a festering rift between two regional powerhouses. The separatist leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, leads a group called the Southern Transitional Council, which has been pushing for an independent state in southern Yemen, with Emirati backing. Saudi intelligence determined …
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