Yemen's STC leader al-Zubaidi flees, Saudi-backed coalition says

Jan 7 (Reuters) - The leader of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, failed to board a plane set to take him to Riyadh, and fled instead to an unknown destination, the Saudi-backed coalition in the country said on Wednesday.

The remarks came amid efforts to end fighting that erupted last month between the STC, backed by the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen's Saudi-backed internationally recognised government, which has triggered a major feud between the Gulf allies.

Zubaidi was set to travel to Saudi Arabia days after Yemen's government said it had asked Riyadh to host a forum on the southern issue.

In a statement, coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said a flight carrying a large number of senior leaders of the separatist group departed after a delay of more than three hours without Zubaidi, and with no information on his whereabouts.

During the delay "information became available indicating that he had moved large forces," Maliki added, citing "calls for mobilisation and the movement and arming of factions with light and medium weapons".

The feud between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has fractured a coalition originally created to fight the Iran-aligned Houthis, who are still the dominant military force in Yemen.

The Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2014 and Gulf countries intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government, splitting Yemen into rival zones of control.

The coalition also said it carried out limited pre-emptive airstrikes in Yemen's southern province of al-Dhalea after monitoring the movements of armed forces that had left their camps.

Domestic sources and sources within the STC reported more than 15 strikes in the province, the birthplace of Zubaidi.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)