RIYADH: Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous Al-Zubaidi fled to Abu Dhabi from Mogadishu, Somalia, according to the Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Malki.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Thursday, he said that Al-Zubaidi fled on Tuesday night and reached Somaliland on a vessel named BAMEDHAF that departed from the Port of Aden.
“The vessel departed the Port of Aden shortly after midnight on January 7, heading towards the Somaliland Province in the Federal Republic of Somalia.
The vessel disabled its identification systems before heading to the Port of Berbera, where it arrived at 12:00 PM,” it said.
Al-Malki said Al-Zubaidi said during this time, intelligence revealed that Al-Zubaidi contacted an officer known as “Abu Saeed”—later identified as Major General Awad Saeed Bin Musleh Al Ahbabi, Commander of Joint Operations in the UAE Armed Forces—to inform him of their arrival.
According to the statement, Al-Zubaidi then departed on a flight accompanied by UAE officers headed to Mogadishu airport.
After landing in Mogadishu airport, the plane then headed to the Arabian Gulf via the Arabian Sea, again without a declared destination.
It added that the aircraft disabled its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, reactivating them only ten minutes prior to landing at Al Reef Military Air Base in Abu Dhabi at 20:47 Kingdom Time.
“It has been noted that this specific type of aircraft is frequently utilized in conflict zones along routes involving Libya, Ethiopia, and Somalia,” the statement said.
It added a review of the registration of the vessel BAMEDHAF confirmed it sailed under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
“This is the same flag used by the vessel GREENLAND, which transported combat vehicles and weapons from the Port of Fujairah to the Port of Mukalla, as detailed in the Joint Forces Command statement dated December 30, 2025,” it said.
Al-Malki said coalition forces are analyzing the information of people who were the last to meet Al-Zubaidi before he fled from Aden.
It may be recalled that Saudi Arabia has invited factions from southern Yemen to Riyadh for talks aimed at ‘discussing just solutions to the southern cause.’
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the conference is called at the request of Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, President of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council.
The Kingdom urged all southern factions to actively participate in the conference to develop a comprehensive vision for just solutions to the southern cause that fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the southern people.
The statement affirmed that it is a just cause that has historical and social dimensions, and that the only way to resolve it is through dialogue within the framework of a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.
The United Arab Emirates has announced the withdrawal of its remaining counter-terrorism units from Yemen, saying the decision was taken after a review of recent developments on the ground.
The decision came after Saudi Arabia expressed strong concern over recent actions by the UAE in Yemen, warning that they posed serious risks to Saudi national security and to the stability of Yemen and the wider region.
