The leader of a separatist group in Yemen refused a Saudi demand to fly to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for talks on Tuesday, heightening a standoff in which Yemen’s sovereignty hangs in the balance.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi is the leader of the Southern Transitional Council, a group of fighters and politicians who want to create an independent state called South Arabia. Last month, his group, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, led a lightning offensive across southern Yemen, seizing swaths of strategically located territory.
That angered officials in neighboring Saudi Arabia. They pushed back, saying the moves threatened their national security. Over the weekend, Yemeni government forces recaptured territory with Saudi support.
The ensuing conflict has effectively become a proxy clash between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, powerful U.S. allies who are increasingly at odds.
On Sunday, a Saudi-led military coalition told Mr. al-Zubaidi to travel to Riyadh within 48 hours for talks, the coalition said in a statement. A delegation of officials from the separatist group prepared to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night.
But instead of boarding the plane, Mr. al-Zubaidi decided to stay behind, sending other officials in his place, according to the coalition. Within hours, the Saudi-led coalition said it had launched a “limited pre-emptive strike” on Mr. al-Zubaidi’s home region in Yemen, where it said he had fled with “a large military force.” The Yemeni government said that it would prosecute Mr. al-Zubaidi for treason.
The Southern Transitional Council issued a rebuttal soon after, saying that Mr. al-Zubaidi had not fled but had decided to stay behind in the southern Yemeni capital of Aden, while sending a delegation of his colleagues to Saudi Arabia for negotiations.
