Yemen’s separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi has fled the country as the Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducted another round of airstrikes in the country. The Yemeni government has charged him with high treason.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the separatist leader of Yemen, has fled the country as the Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducted another round of airstrikes in the country.
The Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday said it had undertaken “limited pre-emptive strikes” in an effort to prevent separatist leader al-Zubaidi from “escalating the conflict” and extending it into Aldhale governorate, according to AFP.
A Yemeni local official told the news agency that more than 15 Saudi air strikes targeted the home province of al-Zubaidi. They said that strikes in Al-Dhale governorate targeted homes of leaders loyal to al-Zubaidi.
The coalition said it was “working with the Yemeni government and the local authorities… to support security efforts and maintain order”.
The coalition further said that al-Zubaidi had “fled to an unknown location, leaving members and leaders without any information about his whereabouts”. He was due to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks aimed at easing the clashes nut his flight was delayed and he was not onboard when it departed.
Al-Zubaidi, who heads the Southern Transition Council (STC), has been working for years to carve southern Yemen into a separate nation. In December, he launched an offensive against forces aligned with the internationally-recognised Yemeni government.
In the offensive, the STC seized large swathes of territory, including much of Hadramawt province bordering Saudi Arabia, but Saudi-led air strikes and a counter-offensive from the Saudi-led coalition pushed back the separatists.
While the Yemeni government has been backed by Saudi Arabia, al-Zubaidi and his secessionist movement have been backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In support of the interntionally-recognised government, Saudi Arabia has conducted several rounds of airstrikes targeting STC in recent weeks. Saudi-UAE ties have taken a hit as well as they have lately been openly pursuing different objectives in Yemen.
Separately, the internationally-recognised Yemeni government has removed al-Zubaidi from the top executive body for “committing high treason”.
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