A Saudi Arabian-led coalition yesterday struck the home province of Aidaros Alzubidi, Yemen’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed separatist leader, after he failed to show up for talks in Riyadh and was kicked out of the country’s presidential body.
The coalition said that it had given Alzubidi a 48-hour ultimatum to travel to Riyadh for discussions, after his Southern Transitional Council grabbed swathes of territory last month.
However, he failed to board the flight carrying his delegation and the coalition struck his home province of al-Dhale after accusing him of mobilizing “large forces” there.
Photo: AFP
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, which holds executive power, later announced Alzubidi’s removal, accusing him of “high treason.”
The showdown between Yemen’s rival factions raised fears that Aden, where the Southern Transitional Council says its leader is, could be drawn into the violence.
The Southern Transitional Council’s advance and the Saudi Arabian response have also sent relations with the UAE, a rival powerbroker in Yemen, plummeting.
The Southern Transitional Council said that it was open to discussions, but warned that it had lost contact with its delegation in Riyadh, urging Saudi Arabian authorities to guarantee the group’s safety.
Yesterday, more than 15 strikes hit Dhale, a local official told reporters, killing four people, according to two hospital sources.
Alzubidi “fled to an unknown location ... after he had distributed weapons and ammunition to dozens of elements inside Aden,” coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.
The coalition carried out strikes to prevent Alzubidi from “escalating the conflict” and extending it into Dhale governorate, he added.
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