Al-Zubaidi Leaves Aden for Abu Dhabi Following Decisions Described as a ‘Coup Against Consensus’
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council and head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has left Aden for the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, accompanied by Major General Haitham Qassem, the head of the Joint Military Committee.
The trip comes just days after Al-Zubaidi issued a controversial set of decrees that appointed his close associates to high-level government positions. These powers are exclusively held by the head of the Presidential Council, a move that sparked mixed reactions and deepened the political stalemate.
At the same time, the UAE capital hosted a meeting between the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen and Presidential Council leaders who are close to Abu Dhabi, namely Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami and Tariq Saleh. This meeting is part of intensive diplomatic efforts led by the international Quartet (the U.S., UK, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) to advance a political settlement.
All members of the Presidential Leadership Council were originally scheduled to travel to the US along with the military committee, responding to a U.S. invitation to discuss the restructuring and integration of forces and to coordinate security efforts in the Red Sea and the wider region. However, these arrangements stalled due to ongoing internal disagreements.
In a related development, the STC ministers in the government announced their support for Al-Zubaidi’s decisions, considering them an embodiment of “the principles of partnership and the Riyadh Agreement.” Meanwhile, the head of the Presidential Council and other government members have remained silent about these actions, which have been widely described as a clear and illegal violation of the president’s authority.
Last Wednesday, Al-Zubaidi issued 11 administrative decisions that included sweeping changes in government institutions, most notably the appointment of Mohammed Nasser Obadi as head of the General Authority for Lands and Urban Planning, replacing Salem Thabet Al-Awlaqi.
