DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A council fighting against Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday it had expelled the leader of a separatist movement and charged him with treason.
The statement carried by SABA news agency controlled by anti-Houthi forces is the latest escalation between Saudi-backed forces and the Southern Transitional Council, which had been backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia earlier Wednesday said the STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi was expected to fly to Saudi Arabia but he didn’t board the plane. Instead, it alleged he gathered weapons and armed fighters and fled.
The STC has not commented on the decision of anti-Houthi leadership group, known as the Presidential Leadership Council.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said the leader of a separatist movement in Yemen “fled” to an unknown location after saying he would travel to the kingdom for negotiations over the future of southern Yemen.
A statement from Maj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, represents the latest twist in tensions between it and the Southern Transitional Council, backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Malik said the council’s leader, Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, had been due to take a flight to Saudi Arabia. But while other council officials took the flight, he said al-Zubaidi did not.
“The legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that al-Zubaidi had moved a large force —including armored vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition,” al-Malki said. Al-Zubaidi “fled to an unknown location.”
There was no immediate comment from the council, known by the acronym STC.
Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition’s professed goal of fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014.
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