Riyadh
\nThe Saudi-backed presidential council in Yemen has expelled the leader of a separatist group and charged him with treason after he failed to fly to Riyadh for talks.
\nSix other members of the presidency accused Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), of \u201cundermining the independence of the republic\u201d.
\nA Saudi-led military coalition said Zubaidi \u201cfled\u201d after not joining STC officials on a flight from Aden and \u201cmoved a large force\u201d to al-Dahle province. Coalition aircraft launched strikes on the forces in response, it added.
\nThe STC said the strikes, which reportedly killed four people, were \u201cunjustified\u201d and that Zubaidi was still in Aden.
\nIt also expressed concern that contact had been lost with the group\u2019s delegation in Riyadh.
\nThe past few weeks have seen southern Yemen moving to the brink of a new conflict, pitting factions battling the Iran-backed Houthi movement in the country\u2019s decade-long civil war against each other and deepening a rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
\nSTC-aligned forces have in recent years taken control of much of the south, which they want once again to be an independent state, by pushing out forces loyal to the internationally recognised government and the Presidential Leadership Council overseeing it.
\nIn December, the STC\u2019s forces launched offensives to seize the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and al-Mahra from the government, saying they were necessary to \u201crestore stability\u201d in the south and combat the Houthis, al-Qaeda and Islamic State group.
\nHowever, Saudi Arabia warned last week that the advances near the kingdom\u2019s borders constituted threats to its national security as well as the security and stability of Yemen.
\nIt also accused the UAE of \u201cpressuring\u201d its separatist allies to push into eastern Yemen and expressed support for a demand from the presidential council for all Emirati forces to leave.
\nAt the same time, the Saudi-led coalition – which was formed in 2015 by Arab states, including the UAE, after the Houthis seized control of north-western Yemen – struck what it said was a shipment of weapons and military vehicles for the STC that had arrived from the UAE.
\nThe UAE expressed \u201cdeep regret\u201d at the Saudi accusations and denied there were any weapons, but agreed to pull its remaining forces out of the country.
\nSince then, forces loyal to the government have largely retaken control of Hadramawt and al-Mahra with the help of coalition air strikes.
\nIn order to further diffuse tensions, Zubaidi and an STC delegation had been due to fly from Aden to Riyadh on Tuesday night for talks with the government. However, the coalition said the plane left three hours late without Zubaidi, who \u201cfled to an unknown location\u201d.
\n\u201cThe legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that Zubaidi had moved a large force – including armoured vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition – from the Jabal Hadid and al-Solban camps [in Aden] towards al-Dhale,\u201d coalition spokesman Maj-Gen Turki al-Malki said in a statement.
\n\u201cCoalition forces, in co-ordination with legitimate government forces and the [Saudi-backed] National Shield Forces, launched limited pre-emptive strikes to disrupt these forces and thwart Zubaidi\u2019s attempts to escalate the conflict and extend it into al-Dhale,\u201d he added.
\nMore than 15 strikes hit al-Dahle early on Wednesday and at least four civilians were killed, two hospital sources told AFP news agency.
\nMaliki also accused Zubaidi of distributing weapons to \u201cdozens of elements\u201d in Aden \u201cwith the aim of creating unrest\u201d, and said the coalition had asked STC deputy leader Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami, who is also a member of the presidential council, to impose security there.
\nLater, the presidential council issued a decree saying Zubaidi had been stripped of his membership and referred to the attorney general for prosecution on charges including \u201chigh treason\u201d, \u201cdamaging the republic\u2019s military, political and economic standing\u201d, and \u201cforming an armed gang and committing the murder of officers and soldiers of the armed forces\u201d.
\n\u201cIt has been established that [Zubaidi] has abused the just cause of the South and exploited it to commit grave crimes against civilians in the southern governorates,\u201d it alleged.
\nThe STC\u2019s foreign affairs authority said in a statement that it had sent a delegation led by its secretary-general, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Subaihi, to Riyadh because it was committed to \u201cengaging positively and responsibly with various political initiatives and dialogue efforts\u201d.
\n\u201cAt the same time, President Aidarous Qassem al-Zubaidi continues to carry out his duties from the capital, Aden, alongside his people, closely following up on and directly supervising the work of the military, security, and civilian institutions,\u201d it added.
\nThe STC said it had been \u201ctaken by surprise\u201d by the coalition air strikes in al-Dahle, describing them as an \u201cunfortunate escalation that is inconsistent with the declared climate of dialogue\u201d.
\nIt also expressed concern that no official information had been received about the whereabouts and circumstances of Subaihi\u2019s delegation in Riyadh, which it said \u201craises serious questions that require urgent clarification\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Riyadh The Saudi-backed presidential council in Yemen has expelled the leader of a separatist group and charged him with treason after he failed to fly to Riyadh for talks. Six other members of the presidency accused Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), of \u201cundermining the independence of the republic\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-524338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n