Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks in early January, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi while supporters insisted he was still in Yemen. The takeover had sparked tensions between Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who backed rival sides of Yemen's government. Separatist supporters have continued protest and on Friday turned out in their thousands in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, backing Zubaidi and the STC. They brandished photographs of Zubaidi, with some chanting against Rashad al-Alimi, who heads Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential body, and his Saudi backers. One of the protesters, Hussein Mohammed al-Yafai, told AFP he had come out to "reject the illegitimate measures taken by Saudi Arabia... against the South."

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 17, 2026 14:07 UTC