RABAT, Morocco (AP) — World Cup participant Tunisia has parted with coach Sami Trabelsi and his coaching staff following their last 16 exit at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“The executive committee has decided to terminate by mutual consent the contractual relationship with the entire technical staff of the national team,” the Tunisian Federation of Football said in a statement on Facebook late Sunday.
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Tunisia's Yassine Meriah, right, scores a penalty kick against Mali's goalkeeper Djigui Diarra during the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Tunisia's Ismael Gharbi walks off the pitch after the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Tunisia's head coach Sami Trabelsi gestures to the players during the Africa Cup of Nations group C soccer match between Nigeria and Tunisia in Fez, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Tunisia's head coach Sami Trabelsi sits on the becnh before the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
It gave no further details.
Tunisia lost to Mali on penalties in the last 16 of the Africa Cup despite having a player more for most of their match. The team previously failed to impress in Group C, where it lost to Nigeria and finished runner-up after a 1-1 draw with Tanzania.
The 57-year-old Trabelsi took over as Tunisia coach for the second time last February and guided the team to World Cup qualification atop its qualifying group.
The Cartage Eagles were drawn in Group F at the World Cup with the Netherlands, Japan and the winner of a European playoff involving Albania, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine.
AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
Tunisia's Yassine Meriah, right, scores a penalty kick against Mali's goalkeeper Djigui Diarra during the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Tunisia's Ismael Gharbi walks off the pitch after the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Tunisia's head coach Sami Trabelsi gestures to the players during the Africa Cup of Nations group C soccer match between Nigeria and Tunisia in Fez, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Tunisia's head coach Sami Trabelsi sits on the becnh before the Africa Cup of Nations best of 16 soccer match between Mali and Tunisia in Casablanca, Morocco, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
ADEN, YEMEN (AP) — A council fighting against Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday that it had expelled the leader of a separatist movement and charged him with treason after he reportedly declined to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks.
The statement, carried by the SABA news agency affiliated with the anti-Houthi forces, marks a new escalation between Saudi-backed forces and the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, which had been backed by the United Arab Emirates. The rift deepens uncertainty over Yemen’s future, already strained by more than a decade of war in the Arab world’s poorest country.
An STC delegation that flew to Riyadh was scheduled to attend a meeting to discuss the situation in the southern governorates, but the STC said in a statement it lost contact with the delegation after it landed. It expressed “deep concern” over the matter.
The STC said leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi remained in Aden. It also accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes in Yemen's al-Dhale governorate and causing casualties.
“While a senior STC delegation is in Saudi Arabia pursuing negotiations, the President remains in Aden to ensure security and stability," wrote Amr al-Bidh, an STC official focused on foreign affairs. “He will not abandon his people, and he will engage directly when conditions allow.”
The Presidential Leadership Council, or PLC, headed by Rashad al-Alimi, accused al-Zubaidi of “damaging the republic’s military, political and economic standing,” as well as “forming an armed gang and committing the murder of officers and soldiers of the armed forces," according to the SABA statement.
More than 15 Saudi airstrikes overnight hit the al-Dhale governorate, targeting STC camps, according to STC leader Salah bin Laghir.
Meanwhile, two eyewitnesses, Hossam Mohsen and Mohamed Awlaqi, told The Associated Press that armored vehicles affiliated with the STC left Aden overnight heading to al-Dahle.
Other witnesses, Khaled Mathni and Abdallah Abeid, said they saw drones in the sky and flames rising as explosions shook neighborhoods in al-Dahle city and its surrounding areas. They said they believe a weapons warehouse was targeted.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the STC said it was “surprised” by the Saudi airstrike, adding that it marks a “regrettable escalation.”
“While the Southern Transitional Council condemns these unjustified airstrikes, it demands that the Saudi authorities immediately cease the bombing, guarantee the safety of its delegation in Riyadh, and enable it to communicate immediately, considering this a prerequisite for creating a positive atmosphere for any serious and meaningful dialogue,” the STC statement read.
The anti-Houthi leadership group as the PLC formed in April 2022 after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemen’s internationally recognized government stepped down.
Its members have often pursued competing agendas and relied on different foreign backers, leaving the council fragmented and unable to mount a unified campaign against the Houthis — even after the United States and Israel launched bombing campaigns targeting the rebels. An uneasy ceasefire between the combatants on the ground in Yemen held for years.
Tensions flared again in late December over the STC's advances in the governorates of Hadramout and Mahra, which were once held by Saudi-backed forces.
Maj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said Wednesday that al-Zubaidi, had been due to take a flight to Saudi Arabia with other council officials but did not join them.
“The legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that al-Zubaidi had moved a large force — including armored vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition,” al-Malki said. Al-Zubaidi “fled to an unknown location.”
“What is happening today in the southern governorates after the rebellion of Aidarus al-Zubaidi, and despite all the sincere efforts made by our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Presidential Leadership Council to prevent reaching this stage, is not what we wished to reach, and we are not happy with what has happened,” said Abdualla al-Alimi, vice President of the Presidential Leadership Council on X.
On Sunday, Saudi-backed forces spread across the port city of Mukalla, retaking the capital of Hadramout province following days of Saudi airstrikes.
Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics.
Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition’s professed goal of fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014.
Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula off East Africa, borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The war there has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
Khaled reported from Cairo, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
FILE - The president of the Yemen's Southern Transitional Council Aidarous Al-Zubaidi sits for an interview, Sept. 22, 2023, in New York, while attending the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level meeting of world leaders. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
