The Saudi-backed coalition said Wednesday that Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), had fled to an unknown location and did not board his scheduled flight to Riyadh. Al-Zubaidi had planned to travel to Saudi Arabia after the internationally recognized Yemeni government announced days earlier that it had requested Riyadh to host a forum to discuss southern issues, a move seen as a potential step toward de-escalating the fighting.