ADEN: A Saudi-led coalition struck the home province of Yemen’s separatist leader on Wednesday, after he failed to show up for talks in Riyadh and was kicked out of the country’s presidential body.

The coalition said it had given Aidaros Alzubidi a 48-hour ultimatum to come to Riyadh for discussions, after his Southern Transitional Council (STC) grabbed swathes of territory last month.

They were rolled back by the Saudi-led coalition and allied Yemeni forces in recent days.

But he failed to board the flight carrying his delegation, and the coalition struck his home province of al-Dhale after accusing him of mobilising “large forces” there.

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, which holds executive power and includes rival separatists and Saudi-backed figures, then announced Alzubidi’s removal, accusing him of high treason.

The showdown between Yemen’s rival factions has raised fears that its second city, Aden, where the STC insisted its leader was still located, could be drawn into the violence.

The STC’s advance and the Saudi response have also sent relations with the United Arab Emirates, a fellow oil power and rival powerbroker in Yemen, plummeting.

Lost contact

The separatists said they were open to discussions but warned they had lost contact with their delegation in Riyadh, urging Saudi authorities to guarantee their safety.

On Wednesday, more than 15 air strikes hit Dhale, a local official said, killing four people, according to two hospital sources.

Alzubidi “fled to an unknown location... after he had distributed weapons and ammunition to dozens of elements inside Aden”, coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.

The coalition carried out strikes to prevent Alzubidi from “escalating the conflict” and extending it into Dhale governorate, he said.

An STC official said that Alzubidi decided not to join the delegation flying to Saudi Arabia for talks after hearing he would be asked to dissolve his group, which forms part of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) governing government-held Yemen.

Later, the STC said it had lost contact with the delegation following its arrival in Riyadh, urging Saudi Arabia to “guarantee the safety of its delegation currently in Riyadh”.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2026