Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen, demands troops leave UAE | World

The attack came after days of tension over the advance of separatist forces known as the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which enjoys support from the Emirates. Despite this warning, the Council and its allies issued a statement supporting the Emirati presence, just as Saudi Arabia’s partners were pushing for the departure of forces from Abu Dhabi.

The confrontation threatens to open a new front in Yemen’s more than decade-long war, with forces allied against the Iran-backed Houthis potentially turning on each other in the country, the Arab world’s poorest and long ravaged by hunger and disease.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are important members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and any disagreements between the two could undermine consensus on production decisions. The cartel meets virtually on Sunday.

The head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, also canceled a defense pact with the UAE, according to Yemen’s official news agency, and accused the UAE in a televised speech of fueling Yemen’s internal conflicts with its support for the STC.

“Unfortunately, it has been definitively confirmed that the UAE pressured and ordered the STC to undermine and rebel against state authority through military escalation,” he added.

In a statement, the UAE government said it was disappointed by Saudi Arabia’s statement on Yemen and surprised by the attack on the port city of Mukalla.

This episode also exacerbated tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, neighboring countries on the Arabian Peninsula which increasingly compete on regional economic and political issues, particularly in the Red Sea region.

The UAE has been a member of the Saudi-led coalition to fight the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen since 2015. In 2019, the country began reducing its military contingent in the alliance, but maintained its support for Yemen’s internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government.

The STC then moved to control the south and this month launched a surprise offensive against troops of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. The move brought the UAE and Saudi Arabia closer to direct confrontation in Yemen and threatens to reignite a long-running civil war in the country.

The air attack carried out Tuesday morning came after the arrival at the weekend, without authorization, according to the coalition, of two ships from the Emirati port of Fujairah.

At Mukalla, the ships disabled their tracking systems and offloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles to support the STC, according to the coalition.

The official Saudi Press Agency published a video showing a ship identified as “Greenland”, from which weapons and combat vehicles were being unloaded, adding that it was leaving from the port of Fujairah.

The coalition said the attack on Mukalla port caused no casualties or collateral damage, according to Saudi state media. Two sources told Reuters the action targeted the dock where the two ships were unloaded.

Footage broadcast by Yemeni state television showed what the channel said was a plume of black smoke in the port area hours after the attack, as well as burning vehicles in the port area.

The head of Yemen’s Presidential Council, Rashad al-Alimi, imposed a no-fly zone and a sea and land blockade on all ports and crossings for 72 hours. There will only be movement with the authorization of the coalition.

Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the STC and deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Council, said in a joint statement with three other members of the group that the UAE remained a central partner in the fight against the Houthis. The memo rejects Alimi’s orders and says they lack consensus.

“We categorically declare that no individual or entity, inside or outside the leadership council, has the authority to remove any country from the Arab Coalition,” the statement said. “This is an issue governed by regional frameworks, alliances and international agreements that are not subject to individual whims or decisions.”

Since 2022, the STC has been part of an alliance that controls areas of the south outside Houthi control, as part of a power-sharing initiative backed by Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis control the northern region, including the capital Sanaa, after forcing the Saudi-backed government to flee south.

“We will continue to prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni faction without coordination with the legitimate government,” the coalition added.