Aidarus al-Zubaidi, click to see full-size image. (STC)
Yemeni government forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) have taken over the key province of Aden with the United Arab Emirate’s top ally, Aidarus al-Zubaidi, head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), fleeing the country.
The development marked the end of the conflict between the PLC and STC, and along with it the influence of the UAE in Yemen.
The conflict began all the way back on December 2, when the STC launched a military operation across the south of Yemen, beginning in the province Hadhramaut, which was then under the control of Yemeni government forces.
By December 9, the council forces had captured most of the regions comprising the six governorates of the former South Yemen, expanding control along the border with Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom responded on December 30 by hitting an Emirate arms shipment destined to the STC at Mukalla port in the province of Taiz, and demanding the withdrawal of all UAE forces from Yemen within 24 hours, in line with an earlier call from PLC head Rashad al-Alimi. Abu Dhabi responded by ordering a withdrawal on the same day.
On the orders of al-Alimi and with direct support from Saudi Arabia, Yemeni government forces launched a counterattack on January 2.
By January 4, all of Hadhramaut was once again under government control, and on January 7, the forces began to enter Aden. Before the end of the day, the forces were reported to be in full control of all districts of the province, including Aden International Airport and the presidential palace.
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition on January 8 revealed that al-Zubaidi fled Yemen to the UAE via Somaliland in Somalia, and provided details on the escape.
“Reliable intelligence indicates that Al-Zubaidi and his associates fled under the cover of darkness aboard the vessel BAMEDHAF (IMO: 8101393). The vessel departed the Port of Aden shortly after midnight on January 7, heading towards the Somaliland Province in the Federal Republic of Somalia. The vessel disabled its identification systems before heading to the Port of Berbera, where it arrived at 12:00 PM,” coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said in an official statement.
“During this time, intelligence revealed that Al-Zubaidi contacted an officer known as ‘Abu Saeed’—later identified as Major General Awad Saeed Bin Musleh Al Ahbabi, Commander of Joint Operations in the UAE Armed Forces—to inform him of their arrival,” the spokesman continued.
“Waiting for them was an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft (Flight Number: MZB-9102), which had taken off without a declared destination. Al-Zubaidi and his companions boarded the aircraft under the supervision of UAE officers. The plane landed at Mogadishu Airport at 15:15, remained on the tarmac for approximately one hour, and then departed at 16:17, heading towards the Arabian Gulf via the Arabian Sea, again without a declared destination,” he added.
According to the spokesman, the aircraft disabled its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, reactivating them only ten minutes prior to landing at Al Reef Military Air Base in Abu Dhabi at 20:47 “Kingdom Time.”
“The Coalition Forces continue to closely monitor intelligence regarding the whereabouts of individuals who were reported to be the last to meet with Aidarus Al-Zubaidi prior to his flight from Aden. This includes Ahmed Hamid Lamlas (former Governor of Aden) and Mohsen Al-Wali (Commander of the Security Belt Forces in Aden), with whom all communication has been lost,” Col. al-Maliki concluded.
The escape of al-Zubaidi was a blow to UAE influence in Yemen. The remnants of the STC have already met with Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed al-Jaber, which means that they are heading towards an alliance with the kingdom.
Somaliland involvement in the affair is not surprising. The stand off in Yemen between Saudi Arabia and the UAE was, according to several recent Arab media reports, the result of Riyadh frustration with Abu Dhabi’s support to separatist movements in several Arab countries, including Somalia and Sudan.
The UAE is even suspected of playing a role in a recent normalization agreement between the breakaway state in northern Somalia and Israel.
Saudi Arabia has clearly won the battle in Yemen, but this is not the end of the stand off. The next area where we could challenge the UAE is Sudan. Riyadh has been backing the Sudanese Armed Forces, while Ab Dhabi has been backing the Rapid Support Forces. The kingdom has already asked the United States for help ending the conflict there.
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emirados é um país covarde e apoiador de terroristas. o sultão de abu dabi é um terrorista.
recent months saw a large u.s. military build up in the caribbean, with socom deploying assists in puerto rico and near trinidad and tobago…………………………… https://psee.io/8jqu9r
we only support the houthies ======== the rest can go to hell
misery loves company
al houthi tribe are men with biggest balls in the arab world, i would be proud to hang a jambiya on my wall or wear one in my belt if i was yemeni
yeah well nothings what it seems charles had a very private low key meeting with emir of qatar, very discrete, and i ve heard they fund that tucker carlson person too. as the old queen mum says, “never trust anybody”.
emirates are the crypto hook noses of arabia. they are middle office desk jockey managers. saudis are not much better, calling for the ussa to end conflict in sudan? lol. gulf arabs are dependent on amerikunt weapons and whores. but i have more respect for saudi compared to emirates. emirates are bitch of israel. saudi bomb some convoys and al zubaidi fled like the running dog ghani.
all arabs, except the huthies, are pussy boot lickers.
still it doesn’t look like yemen will be united any time soon if ever. the north (houthies) cannot conquer the south and south cannot conquer the north. two independent countries would be a good solution but the problem is that only the north would really be independent meanwhile the south would be a puppet to saudis or uae who both are puppets of usa who are puppets of israel.
surprisingly uae is kicked out of socotra. the big question is, did the zionist swine go with them
saudi arabia bought 1 trillion $ weapons from usa. now bombing uae.
no, i think arabs pretend to invest in ussa economy to shut up trumpstein. there is no way saudi will invest trillions in ussa economy, more than their gdp and when vision 2030 has already failed. they were going to build neom and magic line city by 2030, they did not build anything. saudi vision 2030 was a big failure
the saudi prince often works against his peoples own interest when ever supporting the zealot neighbors wishes. brics membership is an option, but they now accept other currencies than the dollar. a minor change to date
run the zionist led infidels into the sea to drown. may the good people of yemen always overcome the oppressors of freedom.