RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen alleged that Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, slipped out of Yemen by sea and traveled through Somaliland before a flight carried him toward the United Arab Emirates, deepening an open rupture inside the anti-Houthi camp, Jan. 8, 2026.
The claim, denied by the separatists and met with no immediate public confirmation from Abu Dhabi, lands as Riyadh tries to corral rival armed factions in the south and keep a fractured coalition focused on the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s route and the coalition’s allegations
In a statement carried by regional and international media, the coalition said Aidarous al-Zubaidi traveled by boat before boarding an aircraft from Somaliland to Mogadishu, then toward Abu Dhabi, describing the episode as a coordinated operation involving Emirati officers. Details of the alleged route were first reported by Reuters.
Saudi officials have portrayed the disappearance of Aidarous al-Zubaidi as more than a personal flight from danger, arguing it undercut Riyadh-backed crisis talks and coincided with fresh fighting around southern front lines. The Associated Press said the coalition’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, went unusually far by naming a senior Emirati officer alleged to have helped the separatist leader, a move that would be extraordinary in typically discreet Gulf diplomacy, according to AP.
The STC has disputed the narrative, with officials saying Aidarous al-Zubaidi remained in Aden and was directing security and political efforts. Al Jazeera reported competing accounts inside the separatist camp and renewed Saudi-backed military pressure as the allegations circulated, including airstrikes and troop movements near the south, in its coverage.
A rivalry years in the making
Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered Yemen’s war as partners, but their interests have diverged over time, especially over who should control the south’s ports, security forces and political future. A Saudi-brokered power-sharing deal known as the Riyadh Agreement was signed in 2019 to end open fighting between Yemen’s government and the STC and to unify the anti-Houthi front, but implementation repeatedly stalled; Reuters detailed the signing and its aims in its Nov. 6, 2019 report.
Rights groups also warned that patchwork deals would not stop abuses by armed factions on the ground. Human Rights Watch argued the 2019 agreement risked sidelining accountability for violations in the south, a critique that now echoes as Riyadh and Abu Dhabi trade accusations over partners and proxies, in its December 2019 analysis.
For now, the dispute is as much about leverage as it is about whereabouts. If Aidarous al-Zubaidi is confirmed outside Yemen, Saudi pressure on the STC could intensify, while the UAE may face sharper scrutiny over whether it is backing a separatist push that Riyadh sees as a direct threat to border security and the broader war effort.
