STC Leader Al-Zoubaidi Flees Southern Yemen
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki stated that Al-Zoubaidi and several associates had “escaped in the dead of night” aboard the vessel BAMEDHAF, which departed Aden after disabling its identification systems. The ship later docked at Berbera port in Somaliland.
According to the coalition, Al-Zoubaidi then contacted Maj. Gen. Awad Saeed bin Musleh Al-Hababi, commander of joint operations for the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, to confirm his arrival.
Shortly afterward, Al-Zoubaidi and his companions boarded an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, flight MZB-9102, which left without announcing its destination. The plane landed at Mogadishu International Airport at 3.15 pm (1215GMT), remained for about an hour, and departed at 4.17 pm (1317GMT) toward the Arabian Gulf.
The coalition said the aircraft switched off its identification systems while flying over the Gulf of Oman, reactivating them only before landing at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi at 8.47 pm (1747GMT).
Maritime records cited in the statement show the BAMEDHAF is registered under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis—the same flag flown by the vessel GREENLAND, previously used to transport military vehicles and weapons from Fujairah to Mukalla.
Tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have escalated in recent months. Saudi Arabia earlier accused the UAE of directing STC forces to conduct operations along the kingdom’s southern border in Hadhramaut and Mahra, a charge Abu Dhabi denied.
On Friday, Al-Zoubaidi announced a two-year “transitional phase” that would involve dialogue with southern Yemeni factions and a “referendum” on the region’s future. The STC argues successive Yemeni governments have politically and economically marginalized the south and calls for secession. Yemeni authorities reject this claim, insisting on national unity.
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