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3. Yemen's Anti-Houthi Council Expels Separatist Leader

A council fighting against Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday it expelled the leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, and charged him with treason after he reportedly declined to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks.

The statement from SABA accused al-Zubaidi of “damaging the republic’s military, political and economic standing,” as well as “forming an armed gang and committing the murder of officers and soldiers of the armed forces.” It added that the country's attorney general would launch an investigation into the allegations.

Yemen's separatists Wednesday urged Saudi Arabia to halt its air strikes and said al-Zubaidi was still in Aden, after a Saudi-led coalition accused him of fleeing to an unknown location.

Al-Zubaidi was due to board a plane to Riyadh on Tuesday evening for talks Wednesday morning but did not board the plane and “fled to an unknown location”, the Saudi-led coalition said.

Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what it said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.

The recent escalation in Yemen has further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.