Saudi-led coalition says Yemen separatist leader arrives in Abu Dhabi

Saudi Arabia alleged on Thursday (January 7, 2026) that the United Arab Emirates smuggled a separatist leader in Yemen wanted for treason out of the country and flew him to Abu Dhabi.

A Saudi military statement claimed Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of the Southern Transitional Council, fled Yemen by boat to Somalia. Then, UAE officials flew al-Zubaidi to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, the statement said.

The fast-moving crisis ​in Yemen’s south has caused a rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two most powerful countries in the oil-rich Gulf, fracturing a coalition headed by Yemen’s internationally recognised government which is battling the Iran-backed Houthis.

The UAE had no immediate reaction to the claim.

A day ​earlier, the coalition said ⁠Zubaidi, leader of the Southern Transitional Council, had failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks and his fate was unclear, clouding efforts to contain a military escalation ‌that erupted last month.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE first intervened in ⁠Yemen after the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014.

The UAE joined the Saudi-backed ​coalition the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.