JEDDAH(RAHNUMA): Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, former head of the dissolved Southern Transitional Council, sparked widespread reaction by posting a political message on his official X account after his departure from Yemen.
Observers viewed the post as an indication that he has not withdrawn from political life in Yemen.
According to data on the X platform, the post was published from within the UAE at 12:05 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2026, with the account geolocation feature indicating his presence there at the moment of posting. It is not clear whether Al-Zubaidi personally wrote the post or whether it was written by others.
In his first post in some time, Al-Zubaidi wrote a brief message addressing what he described as “the southern people” at home and abroad. He wrote: “As we salute you, we renew our pledge to you, a pledge of men to men, and we urge you to continue your fight across the various arenas and fields of the revolution, to strengthen your support for your transitional council, and to adhere to the principles of the Constitutional Declaration of the State of South Arabia.” He concluded the message with a prayer for the deceased.
On Jan. 6, Al-Zubaidi informed Saudi authorities of his intention to attend a meeting with the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, to discuss the escalatory measures which started on Dec. 3, 2025.
A delegation of STC members, headed by Al-Zubaidi, went to the airport, where the Yemenia Airways flight scheduled to depart at 10:10 p.m. was delayed for more than three hours.
The flight was subsequently allowed to depart, carrying several senior STC leaders; but it departed without Al-Zubaidi, who later fled to an undisclosed location before the details of his escape were revealed in a statement issued by the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy on Jan. 8.
According to the statement, intelligence emerged that Al-Zubaidi, along with others, fled aboard a vessel from the port of Aden shortly after midnight on Jan. 7, heading toward Somaliland in the Federal Republic of Somalia. They switched off the identification system and arrived at the Berbera Port at approximately 12:00 p.m.
It was revealed that Al-Zubaidi contacted an officer known as “Abu Saeed,” later identified as Maj. Gen. Awad Saeed bin Musleh Al-Hababi, commander of joint operations in the UAE Armed Forces, informing him of their arrival, and he was present to receive them.
Al-Zubaidi and those accompanying him boarded a plane that departed without disclosing a destination and landed at Mogadishu Airport at 3:15 p.m., where it remained for an hour before departing across the Arabian Sea and heading toward the Arabian Gulf, without declaring its destination.
The identification system was switched off over the Gulf of Oman and reactivated 10 minutes before landing at Al-Reef Military Airport in Abu Dhabi.
