The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has accused the United Arab Emirates of helping smuggle separatist leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi out of Yemen. Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), was expelled from Yemen's presidential council and accused of treason. Coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Malki said Zubaidi fled Aden on Tuesday night by boat to Somaliland. Then, under UAE officers' supervision, he flew on a cargo plane to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu. The UAE and STC have not yet responded. The STC claimed Zubaidi was still working in Aden on Wednesday, despite the coalition saying he failed to attend Riyadh talks and had fled. The coalition also said Zubaidi moved STC forces from Aden to his home province al-Dahle. It conducted air strikes in response, reportedly killing four people. The STC called the strikes "unjustified" and "inconsistent" with calls for dialogue with Yemen’s recognized government. Maj Gen Turki al-Malki detailed that Zubaidi and his associates left Aden on a St Kitts and Nevis-flagged passenger ship. They then boarded an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane in Somaliland, flew first to Mogadishu, and then towards the Arabian Sea without a declared destination. The aircraft turned off its identification over the Gulf of Oman and reactivated it shortly before landing at Abu Dhabi’s Al-Reef Military Air Base. Recent weeks have seen growing conflict in southern Yemen. The STC aims for an independent southern state, controlling much of the south. Saudi Arabia warned last week that STC advances threaten its national security and that of Yemen. Riyadh accused the UAE of pushing separatists eastward and supported the presidential council's demand for all Emirati forces to withdraw. The Saudi-led coalition struck what it said were arms shipments to the STC from the UAE. The UAE denied this but agreed to pull most forces out. Government forces have retaken Hadramawt and al-Mahra with coalition air support. Witnesses and officials say Aden is now coming under Saudi-backed control.