Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland
Al Jazeera
Secessionist leader took a boat to Berbera and then boarded plane that flew to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu, coalition says.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen has announced that the leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) has fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland after skipping planned peace talks in Riyadh, accusing the UAE of smuggling him out of the country.
In a statement on Thursday, the coalition said Aidarous al-Zubaidi “escaped in the dead of night” on Wednesday on board a vessel that departed Aden in Yemen for the port of Berbera in Somaliland.
Al-Zubaidi then boarded a plane along with UAE officers and flew to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. “The plane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, then turned it back on 10 minutes prior to arrival at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from the STC or the UAE.
Somalia’s immigration authority said in a statement that it is investigating reports “concerning the alleged unauthorized use of Somalia’s national air space and airports to facilitate the movements of a fugitive political figure,” which it added would be a “serious violation” of the country’s sovereignty.
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