Aidarous Al Zubaidi, a Yemeni from the southern province of Al Dhale, has been the head of the Southern Transitional Council since 2017.
The STC makes up three out of the eight-member ruling Presidential Leadership Council, which was formed in April 2022. Mr Al Zubaidi is also the vice president of the PLC.
On Wednesday, the Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad Al Alimi accused Mr Al Zubaidi of “high treason” and announced the revocation of his membership in the governing body.
Opposing unification
Born in 1967, Mr Al Zubaidi held prominent positions within Yemeni institutions, including governor of Aden from 2015 to 2017, just after the Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014.
He studied in his native village of Al Zubaid before graduating from aviation college as a second lieutenant. He went on to work in Yemen's Air Defence Forces, Rescue Forces and Special Forces.
Mr Al Zubaidi has long called for the reinstatement of the former Yemeni southern state as it was before the 1990 unification, which he had opposed. Soon after, he headed an armed militia called Hatm, which he said aims to “defend the south since its occupation in 1994”.
In 2013, southern militants, headed by Mr Al Zubaidi, clashed with the Yemeni army under the rule of late president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces attacked a funeral gathering for a southern activist.
Assassination attempts
In 2016, while serving as Aden's governor, he survived at least two assassination attempts: once by ISIS members who rigged a car to explode while his convoy was passing, and another when Al Qaeda gunmen fired at a convoy, injuring four guards who were protecting it.
That same year, Mr Al Zubaidi proposed the creation of an authority to govern Yemen's south – and thus, a year later, the STC was born. Those forces played key roles in liberating the south from Houthis and combating other extremist groups.
In an interview with The National at the UN General Assembly in September, he said he would join the Abraham Accords if southern statehood were achieved.
“Before the events in Gaza, we were advancing towards joining the Abraham Accords,” said Mr Al Zubaidi. “If Gaza and [the rest of] Palestine regain their rights, the accords will be essential for stability in the region. When we have our southern state, we will make our own decisions and I believe we will be part of these accords.”
Rift with PLC chief
The rift between Mr Al Zubaidi and Mr Al Alimi of the PLC began last month when the STC ordered its forces to take control of the governorates of Hadhramaut and Mahra from other pro-government forces − effectively consolidating the group's grip over much of southern Yemen.
Saudi Arabia condemned the STC’s moves. The kingdom has led the anti-Houthi coalition since 2015, with the UAE playing a key role in halting Houthi advances, securing southern areas and combatting extremist groups.
Anti-Houthi pro-government rival factions took back the two strategic governorates, including the port city of Al Mukalla in Hadhramaut, just as the STC announced the launch of a two-year transitional phase culminating in a referendum on self-determination for the south.
Unknown future
Mr Al Alimi of the PLC then called for a conference to be held in Saudi Arabia to host a dialogue on the southern issue. The STC praised the kingdom's acceptance of the initiative and sent dozens of members to Riyadh, including Vice President Abu Zaraa Al Mahrami.
Saudi Arabia said it had given Mr Al Zubaidi 48 hours to travel to Riyadh, but he didn't. Hours later, the Saudi-led coalition said Mr Al Zubaidi had “fled to an unknown location”, but an STC source confirmed to The National that he remained in Aden “to be with his people”.
The future of Mr Al Zubaidi and his role as the head of the STC remains unclear, and fears are emerging that the unified group could also face internal divisions.
