By Enas Alashray
Jan 7 (Reuters) - The leader of Yemen's southern separatists fled to an unknown destination on Wednesday, after skipping an airplane flight to Riyadh for talks to tackle a crisis that caused a major feud between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The move dashes hopes for a quick resolution to the recent turmoil in Yemen's south that exposed a deep rift between the Gulf powers, fracturing a coalition to battle the Iran-aligned Houthis in a civil war more than a decade old.
Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson of the Saudi-backed coalition, announced the disappearance of Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) in a statement.
A flight carrying a large number of senior leaders of the separatist group had departed after a more than three-hour delay without Zubaidi, Maliki said, and there was no information on his whereabouts.
During the delay "information became available indicating that he had moved large forces," Maliki added, citing "calls for mobilisation and the movement and arming of factions with light and medium weapons".
The STC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zubaidi's whereabouts.
HIGH TREASON
The statement came amid efforts to end fighting that erupted last month between the STC, backed by the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen's Saudi-backed internationally recognised government.
Zubaidi had been set to travel to Saudi Arabia days after Yemen's government said it had asked Riyadh to host a forum on the southern issue.
The status of those talks is now unclear after his disappearance.
The Saudi-backed presidential council stripped Zubaidi of his membership and referred him to the public prosecutor on charges including high treason, state news agency SABA said.
The decision, issued by council chairman Rashad al-Alimi, accused Zubaidi of inciting armed rebellion, attacking constitutional authorities and committing abuses against civilians in southern Yemen.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE first intervened in Yemen more than a decade ago after the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014.
The UAE joined a Saudi-backed coalition the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.
The Southern Transitional Council, set up in 2017 with UAE backing, joined the government coalition.
For years, it has been part of that administration, which controls southern and eastern Yemen and is backed by Gulf states.
But last month STC forces suddenly seized swathes of territory, shifting the delicate balance of power and pitting Saudi Arabia against the UAE.
The UAE pulled its forces out of Yemen under pressure from Saudi Arabia, which saw the southern advance on its borders as a threat to its national security.
On Wednesday, the Saudi coalition also said it carried out limited pre-emptive airstrikes in the southern province of al-Dhalea, Zubaidi's birthplace, after monitoring the movements of armed forces that had left their camps.
Domestic sources and sources within the STC reported more than 15 strikes in the province.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray; writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)
