The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen claimed on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates had helped a prominent separatist leader flee the country, in a dramatic development likely to escalate tensions between the two Gulf powers. According to the coalition, the exfiltration comes as Riyadh-backed forces are once again advancing toward the strategic port of Aden, after having recently lost ground there.
The person in charge is Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a southern separatist movement supported by Abu Dhabi. The Saudi-led coalition claims that Zubaidi left Yemen by boat before traveling to Somaliland, from where he allegedly boarded a plane bound for Mogadishu. The aircraft was later reportedly located at a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
This alleged escape comes amid a severe crisis that erupted last month when separatist forces launched an offensive in southern Yemen, particularly in Aden, advancing toward the Saudi border. Riyadh described the advance as a direct threat to its national security. The coalition claims that Zubaidi was in contact with Emirati officials and that Emirati officers oversaw his movement.
Somali authorities responded by announcing an investigation to determine whether their airport infrastructure had been used for the transit of a "political fugitive." The Somali Agency for Immigration and Citizenship warned that, if confirmed, these allegations would constitute a serious violation of national sovereignty.
Zubaidi did not appear in Riyadh on Wednesday for crisis talks focused on the unrest in southern Yemen. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) stated that he had been forced to travel to Saudi Arabia, while maintaining that he continued to oversee military and security operations in Aden to prevent a security vacuum.
On the ground, a witness indicated that the situation in Aden appeared relatively stable on Thursday, with patrols by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the imposition of a nighttime curfew. Pro-Saudi forces have also reportedly regained ground in other areas in recent days, following pressure from Riyadh on Abu Dhabi to contain the separatists.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, long-standing allies and major players in the global oil market, have long cooperated within the coalition against the Iranian-backed Houthis. But their already latent strategic differences in the Middle East now appear to be surfacing, casting further uncertainty over the stabilization of southern Yemen and the evolution of the conflict.
