Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Political Bureau of Ansarullah, has commented on the escape of Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), describing his reported departure from the battlefield as an explicit declaration of the humiliating end of the STC project.
In a video message released on Thursday, al-Bukhaiti said al-Zubaidi’s absence from the confrontation amounted to a moral and political collapse, arguing that even leaving under bombardment and threat would have represented a deeper level of humiliation than withdrawal without confrontation.
تعليقي على هروب عيدروس الزبيدي من ساحة المعركة.
محمد البخيتي pic.twitter.com/hoG8LHCqVI
— محمد العزي (@alazi2026) January 8, 2026
He added that the stigma would continue to haunt al-Zubaidi and other STC leaders, not because they lost a battle to Saudi Arabia and its allied forces, but because they had, for years, aligned themselves with what he termed “aggression and occupation,” supplying tens of thousands of fighters from southern provinces to defend Saudi interests along the Yemeni-Saudi border.
Al-Bukhaiti accused al-Zubaidi of reaching “the height of dependency,” citing his public declarations of absolute loyalty to Saudi Arabia and its leadership, and his pledge to act as an obedient instrument wherever Riyadh chooses, inside or outside Yemen.
He further questioned the motives behind Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen in 2015, asserting it stemmed from Riyadh’s perception of Ansarullah’s presence in Saada as a security threat and its refusal to submit to Saudi dictates.
Al-Bukhaiti then compared this to what he described as Saudi Arabia’s current confrontation with the STC, arguing that Riyadh now views STC forces in Hadhramaut and Mahrah as a threat to its border security, despite their proclaimed loyalty to Saudi and Emirati interests.
Addressing residents of southern provinces—particularly in Dhalea and Radfan—al-Bukhaiti called for a reassessment of their stance and a return to what he described as the national fold, adding that Yemen’s only path forward lies in unity and a comprehensive struggle to restore sovereignty, independence, and end the suffering of the population.
He also warned Yemen’s Islah party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, against celebrating current developments, saying Abu Dhabi had already turned against it and that Saudi Arabia would prove no more loyal in the long term.
