Saudi Arabia accuses UAE of smuggling separatist leader out of Yemen, tensions escalate – Firstpost

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday accused the United Arab Emirates of smuggling a UAE-backed separatist leader out of Yemen after he failed to appear for crisis talks in Riyadh, escalating tensions between the two Gulf allies.

According to The Guardian report, the Saudi-led coalition said Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), fled the Yemeni port city of Aden for Abu Dhabi under Emirati supervision.

Saudi officials said his departure deepened an already growing diplomatic rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

According to the coalition, al-Zubaidi travelled by boat to the Emirati-operated port of Berbera in Somaliland before boarding an aircraft to Mogadishu, which was later tracked to a military airport in Abu Dhabi.

Sources within the Southern Transitional Council did not dispute that al-Zubaidi had left Yemen, reported The Guardian.

The dispute between Saudi Arabia and the UAE intensified last month after UAE-backed separatist forces swept through southern Yemen and advanced toward the Saudi border, a move Riyadh described as a threat to its national security.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, longtime allies of the United States, had fought alongside each other for years in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

A ceasefire agreed in 2022 left the Houthis in control of large parts of northwestern Yemen.

STC in disarray

Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and the internationally recognised government, on Wednesday expelled Aidarous al-Zubaidi and charged him with treason after he failed to travel to Riyadh for talks.

His escape effectively collapsed the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) campaign to declare an independent southern state and expel forces loyal to the recognised government, reviving the pre-1990 north–south divide. Internal splits within the STC and the loss of momentum made al-Zubaidi’s position untenable.

Despite recent vows by aides that he would fight to hold Aden or retreat into a guerrilla campaign, plans for a late-night exile appear to have been under way. Al-Zubaidi is believed to have fled with several close allies in government.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed information ministry called for international sanctions, saying: “Al-Zubaidi would not have acted with such recklessness without direction from Abu Dhabi … where he placed his personal interests and the interests of his supporters above the interests of the nation.”

Riyadh’s decision to publicly highlight the UAE’s alleged role in facilitating his escape underscored its anger over Emirati backing for the STC rebellion.

On Tuesday night, al-Zubaidi rejected a Saudi ultimatum to fly from Aden to Riyadh, prompting Saudi airstrikes on an STC military camp. He reportedly reached the airport but did not board the plane, returned home, and later fled.

Separate STC delegation held “constructive” talks

A separate STC delegation of more than 50 members did travel to Riyadh, saying they were safe and had held “constructive” talks, though the extent of their freedom to negotiate remained unclear.

The STC’s grip on Aden had already weakened amid internal divisions, notably after a senior commander ordered heavy weapons withdrawn from camps linked to al-Zubaidi’s faction. That split eased the entry of Saudi-backed forces into the city.

The turmoil highlighted the scale of the STC’s political and military overreach. Just weeks earlier, al-Zubaidi had declared a two-year transition towards a self-determination referendum for a “State of South Arabia”, a move that angered Riyadh and triggered Saudi pressure that forced an STC retreat.

Diplomatically isolated, the UAE subsequently withdrew military support, removing equipment from bases across southern Yemen. It remains unclear whether Saudi Arabia’s pledge to hold a southern dialogue signals genuine engagement with separatist demands or a broader crackdown on the movement it once backed.

With inputs from agencies