Sawt Falasteen - Saudi strikes Yemen after separatist leader skips talks

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.

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.

The separatists later said that the delegation they sent to Riyadh had been detained by the Saudi authorities.

Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, which holds executive power and includes rival UAE- and Saudi-backed figures, 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.

The Saudi-led coalition and allied Yemeni forces have in recent days rolled back the STC's territorial advances.

On Wednesday, the separatists announced a nighttime curfew in Aden, the capital of government-controlled areas and an STC stronghold, amid fears of clashes with Saudi-backed forces.

- 'Arbitrarily detained' -

"More than 50 STC officials have been arbitrarily detained and taken to an unknown location by the Saudis. We call on their immediate release and put the onus on Saudi Arabia for their safety," the group said in a statement.

An STC official told AFP 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.

Alzubidi "continues his duties" in Aden, the group said, calling on the Saudi-led coalition to halt the air strikes.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki, meanwhile, said Alzubidi "fled to an unknown location... after he had distributed weapons and ammunition to dozens of elements inside Aden".

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

More than 15 air strikes hit Dhale, a local official told AFP, killing four people, according to two hospital sources.

- 'Grave crimes' -

The PLC announced Alzubidi's removal, accusing him of committing several crimes, including "high treason" and "engaging in armed insurgency".

"It has been established that (Alzubidi) has abused the just cause of the South and exploited it to commit grave crimes against civilians in the southern governorates," it said.

More than 100 people have been killed in the Saudi-led coalition's strikes on the separatists' positions and in clashes on the ground.

The Saudis and Emiratis have long supported rival factions in Yemen's fractious government, after they had initially joined forces in the Saudi-led military coalition against the Houthis.

The coalition and another Saudi-backed group said it has asked STC deputy Abdulrahman al-Mahrami, who is in Riyadh and approved Alzubidi's dismissal from the presidency, to "enforce security and prevent hostilities in Aden".

A security official in Aden told AFP that the forces loyal to Mahrami have been deployed in the streets and government buildings, including the presidential palace.

Mahrami later announced there would be a 9:00 pm to 6:00 am (1800 GMT to 0300 GMT) curfew in the city.

A military source in Shabwa province told AFP that units of the Saudi-backed National Shield forces had arrived in Ataq city and were heading towards Aden.

Aden is an STC stronghold and home to the group's headquarters.

After the Iran-backed Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, it became the government's self-proclaimed temporary capital.

As the civil war progressed, the STC's political and military influence expanded across south Yemen and they became a dominant force in Aden.

Another security official told AFP that two days ago, the STC evacuated its headquarters in Aden and moved the operations of its TV channel to an unknown location for fear of Saudi bombing.

Last week, Alzubidi had announced a two-year transition towards creating a new country, "South Arabia", in Yemen's south.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST