In video: PLC head escapes Aden airport following STC coup

On Sep 11, 2025 5:52 PM

ADEN, Sept. 11 (YPA) – Head of the coalition-formed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad al-Alimi, fled by Aden airport on Wednesday to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The escape followed a coup led by his deputy, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who issued a series of decrees appointing loyalists to various positions.

Local sources in the city clarified that Al-Alimi was able to leave the airport on a civilian flight to Riyadh almost 48 hours after his return to Aden. This followed a verbal altercation between him and Al-Zubaidi.

The sources added that these decisions angered Al-Alimi, who considered them an insult and a weakening of his authority, while Sultan Al-Arada failed to contain the situation between two officials.

In a strongly worded statement following the decisions, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared itself the owner of the land until its legitimate objectives be achieved, amid accusations that the coalition-affiliated Aden government was obstructing the payment of salaries and empowering southern cadres loyal to it.

Pro-STC activists published a video clip documenting the moment Alimi fled via Aden Airport towards Riyadh.

Observers believed that al-Zubaidi’s coup against the PLC’s head came in agreement with the UAE to oust al-Alimi and restructure the council to enable the appointment of Ahmed Ali Selah, the son of former president Ali Abdullah Selah, as head of the PLC, while retaining al-Zubaidi’s position alone. Additionally, the restructuring of the so-called security intelligence apparatus that may serve Emirati and Israeli interests in southern Yemen.

They added that these decisions coincided with the Saudi authorities’ arrest of Saleh al-Maqaleh, deputy director of the office of the PLC, based on a tip from Emirati sources. Al-Maqaleh is considered the most senior candidate to lead the “security apparatus” after its restructuring.

The observers emphasized that al-Zubaidi’s appointments to those close to him and members of his family may be a time bomb for an upcoming conflict with systematic regional dimensions within the STC’s wings, and may result in the complete exclusion of his deputy, Abdulrahman al-Mahrami, who is leading the Yafaa wing in an inappropriate manner.

They pointed out that the coup led by al-Zubaidi against his partners in the Party of the coalition-backed General People’s Congress and the Islah may portend a resurgence of terrorist activity targeting STC factions.