Yemen's STC raises alarm as delegation 'disappears' in Riyadh

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) expressed deep concern about the fate of a delegation that includes ministers and senior officials sent to Riyadh for talks with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, hours after Saudi Arabia allegedly carried out air strikes on the hometown of the southern separatists' leader.

Amr al-Bidh, a senior STC official, told an online press conference that repeated attempts to contact the delegation had failed, raising fears that its members had been detained in Riyadh.

Al-Bidh said the delegation arrived in the Saudi capital on a commercial flight at around 3 am, before being escorted onto a black bus by members of a Saudi security team. He said their phones were believed to have been confiscated shortly after arrival.

Repeated calls by STC officials to their colleagues in Riyadh have gone unanswered, he said, while family members were also unable to obtain information from Saudi authorities about the delegation’s whereabouts.

"This was a high-level delegation including the defence minister, several other ministers, and senior STC leaders. Until now, we have heard nothing from them," al-Bidh told reporters. "We have tried to contact them repeatedly and received no response."

"We sent our leadership and ministers to Riyadh for dialogue. That is what we did, and this is what we received," he added.

Hopes briefly emerged later on Wednesday that the officials were safe after one member of the delegation, Mohammad al-Ghaithi, posted on X that he had arrived in Riyadh and was preparing for talks "in a positive atmosphere… under the sponsorship of our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".

However, al-Bidh said the STC did not consider the post credible and maintained that, until direct contact was established, it regarded the delegation as detained.

"We do not consider those posts legitimate communication," he said. "We cannot reach any of the more than fifty members of the delegation. That is deeply worrying."

One senior STC figure who did not travel to Riyadh was the group's leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who also went missing early on Tuesday before later being reported to be in Aden, the de facto capital of the southern separatists.

Much of Aden is now under the control of the UAE-backed Southern Giants Brigades, after STC-aligned forces withdrew from several key positions in the city on Wednesday.

Al-Bidh denied claims that al-Zubaidi had stayed behind because he feared detention if he travelled to Riyadh, saying instead that his presence was required in Aden to manage political and military affairs.

"The main reason he did not go is that a fully mandated delegation had already been sent to conduct the dialogue," al-Bidh told The New Arab during the briefing. "The second reason is that the message he received was that either he comes or there would be bombing."

"That does not create a conducive environment for dialogue," he added. "The message was: either you come, or you are an enemy."

The New Arab contacted the Saudi embassy in London for comment on the STC's claims but received no response. The developments follow an alleged air strike on al-Zubaidi’s home village early on Wednesday, which the STC said caused civilian casualties and was viewed as a direct threat from Riyadh.

Earlier on Wednesday, Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi accused al-Zubaidi of "high treason" and announced his dismissal from the body, which includes representatives of the internationally recognised government and the STC, and was established as a unified front against the Houthi movement.

STC officials warned that if their delegation is detained in Saudi Arabia, al-Zubaidi could retreat to the hills surrounding Aden and lead armed resistance against Yemeni government forces.

The crisis follows the brief takeover of contested southern regions by STC forces last month, which prompted Saudi air strikes on an Emirati arms shipment bound for the separatists and subsequent military operations by Yemeni government forces to retake the territory.

The escalation has highlighted growing tensions between Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi backing southern separatists and Riyadh supporting the internationally recognised government.

Following Saudi strikes on Mukalla port in December, the UAE announced it was withdrawing its “counter-terrorism” forces from Yemen, which had been deployed alongside STC-aligned militias.

Hopes of de-escalation briefly surfaced on Tuesday after it was announced that al-Zubaidi would lead an STC delegation to Riyadh for talks. Those hopes have since faded, with the reported disappearance of the delegation raising fears of a renewed confrontation in Aden.

The STC has previously complained of paralysis within the Presidential Leadership Council and neglect of southern regions, while Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have voiced concerns over the growing autonomy and military movements of separatist forces in the south.