New Delhi: Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have risen over the fracturing of their coalition in Yemen, with Riyadh accusing Abu Dhabi of aiding the abrupt departure of the leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) Aidarus Al-Zoubaidi in the middle of the night Thursday.
“Reliable intelligence indicate that Aidarus Al-Zoubaidi and others have escaped in the dead of night aboard the vessel (BAMEDHAF) which has departed the port of Aden heading towards (Somaliland Province) in the Federal Republic of Somalia after midnight of January 7th,” Major General Turki Al-Malki, official spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, said in a statement Thursday.
He added: “During that time, it was found that Aidarus has reached out to an office nicknamed Abu Saeed, who was revealed to be Major General Awad Saeed Bin Musleh Al Ahbabi, Commander of the Joint Operations in the UAE Armed Forces, informing him that they have ‘arrived’.”
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After arriving at the port of Berbera, Al-Zoubaidi took off in an Ilyushin 76 with the flight number MZB-9102, which took off without defining a departure destination. The leader of the STC was supervised by the UAE officers. The flight landed in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia before taking off towards the Arabian Gulf without defining a destination,
The Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen further highlighted that the airplane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman and turned it on prior to arrival at the Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi.
”Coalition Forces are still following closely the information regarding the fate of some people who were indicated to be the last to meet Aidarus Al-Zoubaidi before he fled Aden, such as Ahmed Hamid Lambas, the former Governor of Aden and Mohsin Al-Wali, Commander of the Security Belt Forces in Aden, with whom all communication has been lost,” the statement added.
The latest accusations follow Riyadh’s bombing of the port of Al-Mukalla on 30 December in a limited strike, after accusing Abu Dhabi of moving military equipment in support of the separatist STC.
The Al-Zoubaidi-led STC last week announced a “two-year” transitional phase before separation of “Southern Yemen” from the rest of the country.
The continued tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi highlights the growing differences between two countries that are ostensibly the closest partners in the region, yet continue to compete across the region for influence. The UAE announced its withdrawal from Yemen on 31 December, a day after the air strikes.
Saudi Arabia and its allies have backed the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen led by Rashad Al-Alimi. Al-Zoubaidi was a part of the council backing Al-Alimi, before undertaking its efforts to separate southern Yemen from the rest of the country.
For over a decade the Saudi-led coalition has been locked in a civil war with the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia that has some control over large swathes of northern Yemen and the internationally recognised capital of Sana’a. Despite Saudi Arabia and the UAE being a part of the same coalition, the two governments have backed different organisations within southern Yemen. Alimi has received strong backing from Riyadh, while Al-Zoubaidi’s STC has received military support from Abu Dhabi.
Riyadh is worried about any instability in the governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahra in southern Yemen, especially if the violence could spill over the border into its territory.
The STC at the end of December launched an operation to take control of the two provinces, which led to Saudi Arabia calling for their withdrawal from Hadramout and Al-Mahra.
The UAE has rejected allegations of pressuring the STC to undertake the operations to capture the two governorates. Since around 2022 the Houthis and the Presidential Leadership Council have maintained a ceasefire that has largely held.
The country remains deeply divided, with both sides entrenched in their positions. The Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council expelled Al-Zoubaidi from the organisation and charged him with treason Wednesday, after the STC leader did not show up in Riyadh for talks.
The same day, the Saudi-led Coalition launched strikes on STC forces in Al-Dahle province. The latest challenges place southern Yemen on the brink of fresh conflict, essentially fracturing the forces that have so far banded together against the Houthis in the North.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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