RIYADH — The Arab coalition confirmed on Thursday that Aidarus Al-Zoubaidi fled Yemen via a coordinated sea and air escape to a military airport in Abu Dhabi. In a statement issued by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said intelligence confirmed that Al-Zoubaidi departed Aden late on Jan. 7 aboard a vessel that left the Port of Aden shortly after midnight. According to the statement, Al-Zoubaidi and others fled aboard the vessel BAMEDHAF, which sailed toward Somaliland in the Federal Republic of Somalia after switching off its identification systems. The vessel later arrived at the port of Berbera around noon. The coalition said Al-Zoubaidi subsequently contacted an officer identified as Major General Awad Saeed bin Musleh Al-Hababi, commander of joint operations in the UAE Armed Forces, informing him of his arrival. Following that contact, Al-Zoubaidi and those accompanying him boarded an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, flight number MZB-9102, which departed without declaring a destination. The aircraft landed at Mogadishu International Airport at 3:15 p.m., remained for about one hour, then took off again at 4:17 p.m. heading toward the Arabian Gulf. The coalition said the aircraft switched off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman before reactivating them shortly before landing at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi at 8:47 p.m. Saudi time. It noted that the type of aircraft used is commonly deployed in conflict zones along routes linking Libya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The statement added that maritime records show the vessel BAMEDHAF sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the same flag as the vessel GREENLAND, which previously transported combat vehicles and weapons from Fujairah to the port of Mukalla, as cited in a coalition statement issued on Dec. 30, 2025. Coalition forces said they continue to monitor information related to individuals believed to have been the last to meet Al-Zoubaidi before his escape from Aden, including former Aden governor Ahmed Hamid Lamlas and Security Belt Forces commander Mohsen Al-Wali, with whom communication has reportedly been lost. The coalition reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Yemeni government and local authorities to preserve security and stability and to confront any armed actions targeting cities and civilians.
