- Saudi-led coalition attacks port of Mukalla, southern Yemen.
- UAE-backed STC to undermine state: Yemen presidential council.
- KSA urges the UAE to comply with Yemen's demand to leave the country.
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that its national security was a red line and backed a call for UAE forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours, hours after a Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla.
The warning comes as the coalition hit back at what it described as foreign military support for UAE-backed southern separatists, and the head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council set a deadline for Emirati forces to withdraw.
The head of Yemen's presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, also canceled a defense pact with the United Arab Emirates, the Yemeni state news agency said, and complained about the UAE's support for the Southern Transitional Council (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.
Saudi Arabia urged the Emiratis to comply with the demand. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Offensive in Yemen
The UAE was a member of the Saudi-led coalition that fought the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen since 2015. They began a drawdown of their troops in the country in 2019 but remained committed to the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia.
The STC subsequently decided to seek self-rule in the south and this month moved forward in a sudden offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops.
The advance broke years of stagnation, in which the STC claimed broad control of the south. Saudi Arabia had warned the STC against military moves in the eastern border province of Hadramout and sought the withdrawal of its forces.
The STC rejected the Saudi call.
The limited airstrike followed the weekend arrival of two ships from the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and Sunday without its authorization, the coalition said.
After reaching Mukalla, the ships disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles to support the STC, he added.
No victims on strike
The coalition said the attack on the port of Mukalla caused no casualties or collateral damage, according to Saudi state media.
Two sources said Reuters that the attack targeted the dock where the cargo from the two ships was unloaded.
Footage from Yemen state television showed what it said was black smoke rising from the port early in the morning after the attack, with vehicles burned in the port.
UAE-backed forces control large swaths of land in the south, including the strategically key province of Hadramout.
The head of the Yemeni presidential council, Alimi, imposed a no-fly zone and a sea and land blockade of all ports and crossings for 72 hours, except for exemptions authorized by the coalition.
Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia and has cultural and historical ties with it. Many prominent Saudis have their origins in the area.
Since 2022, the STC has been part of an alliance that controls southern areas outside Houthi control, under a power-sharing initiative backed by Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis control the northern region, including Sana'a, the capital.
“We will continue to prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni faction without coordination with the legitimate government,” the coalition added.
