Source: AFP
Aidarous al-Zubaidi answers a journalist’s question during an interview with AFP at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos on January 18, 2024 [Fabrice Coffrini/AFP]
Mogadishu (HOL) — Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting in Yemen said Thursday that the leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council fled the country via Somaliland after skipping to attend planned peace talks in Riyadh, a move that could further strain relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the coalition said Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, left the southern Yemeni city of Aden late Wednesday aboard a vessel bound for the Somaliland port of Berbera. From there, the coalition said, al-Zubaidi boarded an aircraft accompanied by Emirati officers and flew to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, before continuing on to Abu Dhabi.
The coalition alleged that the aircraft switched off its identification systems while flying over the Gulf of Oman and reactivated them shortly before landing at Al Reef military airport in the UAE.
There was no immediate comment from the Southern Transitional Council or the Emirati government. Somali authorities also have not commented on the reported transit through Berbera and Mogadishu.
If confirmed, the episode would highlight the deepening rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen, tensions that became increasingly visible in December.
The STC initially fought alongside government forces against the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen but has since turned its focus toward securing independence for the country’s south. In recent weeks, the group has seized control of the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, which border Saudi Arabia, a development Riyadh has described as a direct threat to its national security.
The reported route taken by al-Zubaidi has also renewed scrutiny of the UAE’s footprint in Somalia. The Emirates maintains a presence in Mogadishu, Puntland and Somaliland, regions that have increasingly featured in regional security and logistics networks linked to Gulf rivalries.
In November 2025, Somalia’s defense minister, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, confirmed before the Upper House of Parliament that aircraft had been flying from Bosaso, Puntland’s commercial hub, to Sudan, though the federal government did not know what cargo they were carrying or who operated them.
“Before the Somali people, I confirm there are planes departing from Bosaso Airport bound for Sudan,” Fiqi told lawmakers at the time. “However, we do not know what they transport or who operates them.”
His remarks followed weeks of reporting by Hiiraan Online and other media outlets documenting Bosaso’s growing role in the UAE’s regional operations. An investigation published by Middle East Eye on Oct. 31 reported that UAE-linked IL-76 cargo planes have landed repeatedly at Bosaso Airport since 2023, unloading what sources described as “hazardous” shipments before continuing on to Sudan.
Senior officers in the Puntland Maritime Police Force told reporters that the cargo was tightly guarded and transferred immediately, with no documentation indicating any civilian or domestic use.
