BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 8. Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous Al-Zubaidi fled to Abu Dhabi via a plane from Mogadishu, Somalia, according to Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, TurkicWorld reports via Arab News.
In a statement on Thursday, Al-Malki said that Al-Zubaidi fled on Tuesday night and headed to Somaliland on a vessel named BAMEDHAF that departed from the Port of Aden.
The vessel turned off its identification systems while headed to the Port of Berbera in Somaliland, the statement added.
Al-Malki said Al-Zubaidi was in contact with UAE Maj. Gen. Awad Al-Ahbabi, commander of the joint operations in the UAE Armed Forces, and informed him of the arrival.
According to the statement, Al-Zubaidi then departed on a flight accompanied by UAE officers headed to Mogadishu airport.
After landing in Mogadishu airport, the plane then headed to the Arabian Gulf without setting an arrival location, and identification systems were turned off over the Gulf of Oman.
Ten minutes prior to its arrival at Al-Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi, the plane turned on its identification systems again.
The initial ship which departed from Yemen to Somaliland, BAMEDHAF, was sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
This was the same flag used aboard the GREENLAND vessel that had previously transported combat vehicles and weapons from Fujairah to the port of Mukalla, said the coalition’s spokesperson.
Al-Malki said coalition forces are analyzing the information of people who were the last to meet Al-Zubaidi before he fled from Aden.
