Coalition says STC leader Al Zoubaidi has escaped southern Yemen
A coalition spokesperson said Al-Zoubaidi and several associates departed covertly, noting that they had “escaped in the dead of night” aboard a vessel traveling toward Somaliland. As stated in the announcement, the group left the port city of Aden after disabling the ship’s tracking and identification systems.
Reports indicate that the vessel, identified as BAMEDHAF, later arrived at the port of Berbera.
After reaching Somaliland, Al-Zoubaidi reportedly made contact with a senior military officer from the United Arab Emirates to inform him of his arrival.
Following that exchange, Al-Zoubaidi and those accompanying him reportedly boarded an Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft. The plane departed without publicly declaring its destination and later landed at Mogadishu International Airport, where it remained briefly before taking off again toward the Arabian Gulf.
According to coalition accounts, the aircraft deactivated its identification signals while flying over the Gulf of Oman, restoring them shortly before touching down at a military airport in Abu Dhabi later that evening.
The coalition statement also pointed to maritime records showing that the BAMEDHAF is registered under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the same registry previously associated with another vessel said to have transported military equipment from the UAE to Yemen.
In earlier developments, Saudi authorities accused the UAE of encouraging STC-aligned forces to conduct military actions near the kingdom’s southern border in the Yemeni provinces of Hadhramaut and Mahra, an allegation that was denied by Abu Dhabi.
More recently, Al-Zoubaidi announced the start of a two-year “transitional phase,” which he said would involve dialogue with various southern Yemeni factions and a “referendum” on the region’s future.
The STC maintains that successive governments in Yemen have politically and economically marginalized the south and argues for separation. Yemeni officials, however, reject these claims and continue to stress their commitment to preserving national unity.
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