Saudi-led coalition strikes south Yemen; ousted separatist leader flees

Yemen’s southern separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi has fled the country after being removed from office and charged with high treason on Wednesday (local time), Al Jazeera reported.

 

The developments followed fresh airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the country’s south, as coalition forces launched what they described as “limited pre-emptive strikes” in Yemen’s southern Dhale governorate.

 

According to an AFP report, the airstrikes killed at least four people, left several injured, and escalated tensions within the internationally recognised government.

Airstrikes hit Dhale

The coalition carried out more than 15 airstrikes in Dhale earlier today, AFP reported, citing hospital sources that said several people were injured.

 

 

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki confirmed the strikes, saying they were conducted after coordination with Yemen’s legitimate government and the National Shield Forces.

 

“Coalition Forces conducted a limited pre-emptive strike to disable those forces and thwart what Aidarous al-Zubaidi was aiming to accomplish, conflict escalation and its spread into Dhale governorate,” al-Malki was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

Al-Zubaidi removed, charged with treason

Hours after the airstrikes, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) issued a decree removing al-Zubaidi from its membership and referring him to the prosecutor general on charges of “high treason”.

 

“The Presidential Leadership Council issued a decision today to drop the membership of Aidarous al-Zubaidi for committing high treason and to refer him to the Prosecutor General,” the decree, signed by PLC chairman Rashad al-Alimi, said, according to an Al Jazeera report.

 

According to the report, Al-Zubaidi was summoned to Saudi Arabia for talks with Yemen’s leadership, but did not board his scheduled flight to Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition later said he had “fled to an unknown location”.

Conflicting claims on whereabouts

The Southern Transitional Council (STC), which al-Zubaidi leads, initially said it had lost contact with its delegation in Riyadh. It later claimed al-Zubaidi was in the port city of Aden, overseeing military and security operations, Reuters reported.

 

His exact location remained unclear, even as tensions rose between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both key backers of different Yemeni factions.

Power struggle deepens Yemen crisis

Al-Zubaidi’s removal and the coalition’s airstrikes has further deepened fractures within Yemen’s anti-Houthi camp, even as the country remains mired in a prolonged conflict.

 

With the STC controlling a major portion of territory in the south and the PLC asserting its authority through dismissals and prosecutions, Yemen’s already fragile political balance now faces a new phase of internal turmoil.