News / Yemen

UAE-allied separatists block Saudi delegation from visiting Yemen’s Aden

Friday, 02 January 2026 11:11 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 02 January 2026 11:27 AM ]

The file photo shows the airport of Yemen's southern port city of Aden.

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen says the UAE-allied separatists operating in the conflict-ridden country refused landing permission for a plane carrying a delegation from Saudi Arabia to the port city of Aden.

In an X thread on Friday, Mohammed bin Saeed al-Jaber said that Aidarus Al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen, did not issue clearance for the Saudi flight to Aden the previous day.

He added that the Saudi delegation had been scheduled to arrive in Aden to find solutions to recent tensions in Yemen.

Jaber further said Zoubaidi had issued “direct directives to close air traffic at Aden Airport” in an “irresponsible” act that caused “severe harm” to Yemeni people.

Zoubaidi’s move “undermines efforts of political, military, and security coordination” and “sets a dangerous precedent reflecting determination to escalate and reject paths of de-escalation,” the Saudi envoy noted.

"For several weeks and until yesterday, the [Saudi] Kingdom sought to make all efforts with the Southern Transitional Council to end the escalation ... but it faced continuous rejection and stubbornness from Aidarus al-Zubaidi," he added.

On Thursday, the STC-controlled transport ministry in Yemen said in a statement that Saudi Arabia had imposed an air blockade requiring international flights departing from or arriving in Aden to stop in Jeddah for inspection.

The statement also quoted Saudi authorities as saying that the restriction applies only to flights between Aden and the UAE.

Saudi-backed coalition vows to counter UAE allies' military actions in Yemen

The Saudi-led military coalition says it would respond directly and immediately to any military movements by the Aden-based and pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC) that undermine de-escalation efforts.

For more than a decade, Yemen has been gripped by conflict involving the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, as well as a Saudi-UAE-supported coalition loyal to the country’s fugitive regime.

Meanwhile, the UAE also helps the STC militants who call for the secession of southern Yemen.

The long-simmering power struggle between Saudi Arabia and the UAE burst into the open last month after the STC forces seized control of Yemen’s oil-rich Hadhramaut and al-Mahrah provinces after clashes.

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