A significant diplomatic rift has emerged between key Gulf allies as Saudi Arabia’s coalition command has formally charged the United Arab Emirates with orchestrating an elaborate clandestine operation to extract separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi from Yemen following treason allegations.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki disclosed in an official Thursday statement that intelligence confirmed Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), departed Aden via maritime route on January 7th. The operation reportedly involved the vessel Bamedhaf, which sailed from Port of Aden shortly after midnight with its identification systems disabled while navigating toward Somaliland.
According to detailed coalition accounts, the ship docked at Berbera around midday where Zubaidi allegedly contacted Major General Awad Saeed bin Musleh Al-Hababi, identified as joint operations commander in the UAE Armed Forces. The group subsequently boarded an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft—a type commonly utilized in conflict zones across Libya, Ethiopia and Somalia—which departed without declaring its intended destination.
The aircraft made a brief stop at Mogadishu International Airport before proceeding toward the Arabian Gulf. Coalition tracking indicated the plane again disabled its transponder over the Gulf of Oman before reactivating systems prior to landing at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi at 20:47 Saudi time.
Maritime records reveal Bamedhaf sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, matching the registry of another vessel previously implicated in transporting combat vehicles and weapons from Fujairah to Mukalla—a shipment destroyed by Saudi airstrikes on December 30th.
The extraction operation occurred amid escalating tensions, with coalition officials noting Zubaidi had ignored direct instructions to travel to Saudi Arabia for urgent talks regarding STC-led violence in Hadhramaut and al-Mahra. This development follows Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council charging Zubaidi with high treason for allegedly damaging Yemen’s political and military standing, forming illegal armed groups, and committing severe violations against civilians and military personnel.
Coalition forces are currently tracking several figures believed to have facilitated Zubaidi’s escape, including former Aden governor Ahmed Hamid Lamlas and Security Belt Forces commander Mohsen al-Wali, both reportedly out of contact.
This incident represents the latest manifestation of growing friction between nominal allies, following last week’s Saudi condemnation of UAE support for southern separatists and the subsequent UAE announcement withdrawing military personnel from Yemen citing ‘recent developments.’