The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched air strikes on southern Yemen, saying it was targeting secessionist forces after their leader disappeared instead of boarding a plane scheduled to take him to talks in Riyadh.
Saudi-backed ground forces on Wednesday moved on the Yemeni city of Aden, a stronghold of the southern secessionists supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a statement, the coalition said the leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, was due to fly out from the Yemeni city of Aden for talks on ending the conflict between his group and the internationally recognised government of Yemen.
But al-Zubaidi did not board the plane and “fled to an unknown location”, it said. His current whereabouts remain unclear.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports.
Mustapha Noman is the Vice Foreign Minister of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
He says al Zubaidi’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Matthew Bryza is a former US diplomat who now advises Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council.
He explains what happened in the lead up to al Zubaidi skipping peace talks in the Saudi capital.
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