&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Saudi-led coalition launches strikes in Yemen, says separatist leader Aidarus al-Zubaidi ‘fled to unknown location’")
The Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday (Jan 7) said that it launched ‘limited pre-emptive strikes’ in Yemen to prevent UAE-backed secessionists from escalating the conflict. It added that the leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarus Al-Zubaidi, has “fled to an unknown location”. The separatist leader was due to fly to Saudi Arabia Tuesday night for peace talks, but did not board the plane. This comes amid the ongoing tensions in the region.
On Wednesday, the coalition said that it carried out new strikes in an effort to stop separatist leader Al-Zubaidi from “escalating the conflict” and extending it into Aldhale Governorate. The coalition was “working with the Yemeni government and the local authorities... to support security efforts and maintain order,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Al-Zubaidi, the STC leader, was expected to travel to Riyadh on Tuesday (Jan 6) for talks aimed at resolving the issues. However, the plane he was going to board was delayed, and he was not on board when it departed.
Al-Zubaidi has “fled to an unknown location, leaving (separatist group) members and leaders without any information about his whereabouts,” the coalition said.
Earlier on Saturday (Jan 3), Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry called on Yemen’s southern factions to participate in a “dialogue” in Riyadh after deadly airstrikes and an independence bid. The UAE-backed separatists had announced a two-year transition to independence after 20 people were killed in earlier airstrikes launched by a Saudi-led coalition.
Last month, the separatists seized large swathes of territory in Yemen, including much of Hadramawt province bordering Saudi Arabia, expelling Saudi-backed government forces. However, last week’s strikes and a counter-offensive pushed back the separatists.
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The developments come after weeks of tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the separatist Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) land-grab.
The STC is pushing to declare independence and form a breakaway state, which would split the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest state in two. Yemen had also been divided into North and South from 1967 to 1990.
