Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has dismissed Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), accusing him of high treason amid mounting instability in the country’s south.

Zubaidi was due to travel to Riyadh for talks on Tuesday, but according to a Saudi official has “fled” to an unknown location.

In a decree issued on Wednesday, PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said the body had voted to strip Zubaidi of his membership and refer him to the prosecutor general.

The decree said he was removed “for committing high treason” and prosecutors would open a formal investigation.