Yemen’s Saudi-Backed Council Expels Separatist Leader, Accuses Him of Treason

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition said it carried out preemptive strikes after Zubaidi mobilized armed units.

Saudi-backed forces on the outskirts of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt, in Yemen, on Jan. 3, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) said on Jan. 7 it had stripped separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi of his membership and referred him to the public prosecutor on charges including high treason after he failed to board a flight to attend Saudi-brokered talks in Riyadh, aimed at containing clashes between rival Yemeni factions.

The PLC also announced the dismissal of two cabinet ministers, Transport Minister Abdul Salam Hamid and Planning and International Cooperation Minister Waed Badhib, saying the measures were needed to stabilise the situation and protect state authority.

The move highlighted growing divisions inside Yemen’s anti-Houthi alliance, where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—once close partners in the war—have increasingly backed rival forces on the ground.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014. While Riyadh supports the internationally recognized government, Abu Dhabi has backed the Zubaidi-led Southern Transitional Council (STC), whose push for greater autonomy in the south has repeatedly clashed with Saudi-backed authorities.

The council said it had summoned Zubaidi to Riyadh after attacks in the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and Al-Mahrah.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, Major General Turki al-Maliki, said in a Jan. 7 statement posted on X that Zubaidi was told on Jan. 4 to arrive in Saudi Arabia within 48 hours to meet the PLC President Rashad al-Alimi and coalition commanders.

Al-Maliki said the meeting was “to discuss the reasons that led to the escalations and attacks carried out by [STC] affiliated forces.”

The STC publicly praised Saudi efforts a day later and confirmed it would participate, prompting Zubaidi to signal on Jan. 6 that he would attend, Al-Maliki said. A Yemenia Airways flight carrying STC officials was scheduled to depart Aden at 10:10 p.m. but was delayed for more than three hours, he said.

The flight was eventually cleared to depart, carrying senior STC officials but not Zubaidi.

A member of the security forces mans a checkpoint in Aden, where the internationally recognised government is based, on Dec. 31, 2025. Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images

The spokesman said that during that time, the coalition was informed that Zubaidi had mobilized armed units, including armored and combat vehicles with heavy and light weapons, from camps near Aden.

Al-Maliki said that Zubaidi had fled to an unknown location after distributing weapons to fighters in Aden.

Al-Maliki said coalition and allied National Shield Forces then asked the PLC vice-chairman, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Mahrami, to impose security measures in Aden to prevent clashes.

He said coalition forces later tracked the mobilized units to a site near Al-Zand camp in Al-Dhale and carried out what he described as “limited preemptive strikes” at 4 a.m. local time in order to prevent the hostilities from spreading further.

The Epoch Times could not independently verify the spokesman’s claims.

The STC said on Jan. 7 that it supported the delegation that traveled to Riyadh “to participate in the southern-southern dialogue” but was concerned by the “lack of communication and contact with the delegation up to the present moment.”

It also condemned what it described as “unjustified air raids” in Al-Dhale and other southern areas, calling them a “flagrant breach of all international laws and conventions.”