Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen’s port over ‘weapons shipment to separatists from UAE’
Emirates rebuffs KSA’s accusations of shipping weapons, announces forces’ withdrawal from Yemen
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia bombs the port city of Mukalla in Yemen over what it describes as a shipment of weapons for a separatist force there that arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
The attack signals a new escalation in tensions between the kingdom and the Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the Emirates. It also further strains ties between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which had been backing competing sides in Yemen’s decadelong war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
A military statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency announces the strikes, which it says came after ships arrived there from Fujairah, a port city on the UAE’s eastern coast.
“Given the danger and escalation posed by these weapons, which threaten security and stability, the Coalition Air Forces conducted a limited military operation this morning targeting weapons and combat vehicles unloaded from the two ships at the port of al-Mukalla,” it says.
Saudi Arabia also declared a UAE-backed separatist advance in Yemen a threat to the kingdom’s national security and called Abu Dhabi’s actions “highly dangerous”, as the rivalry between the Gulf monarchies boiled over into an open dispute.
The strongly worded foreign ministry statement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had struck a United Arab Emirates weapons shipment destined for separatist forces.
“The steps taken by the UAE are considered highly dangerous,” it said, adding “the Kingdom stresses that any threat to its national security is a red line, and the Kingdom will not hesitate to take all necessary steps and measures to confront and neutralise any such threat”.
Meanwhile, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday rejected Saudi Arabia’s accusations that it supplied weapons to a Yemeni separatist faction amid rising tensions between the two Gulf monarchies.
“The shipment in question did not contain any weapons, and the vehicles unloaded were not intended for any Yemeni party,” said the UAE.
The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry also announced that it has ended the mission of its counterterrorism units in Yemen voluntarily, state news agency WAM reported.
It said the decision came after a comprehensive assessment following recent developments.
The defence ministry also shared its statement in Arabic on X, saying the decision was made after considering recent developments and potential risks to the safety and effectiveness of its counterterrorism missions.
Footage of the port showed dozens of parked military vehicles and pick-ups, several of which were burnt out and smouldering as workers hosed them down.
After the strikes, the leader of Yemen’s presidential council, which sits atop the Aden-based government, declared a state of emergency and cancelled a security pact with Abu Dhabi after the forces of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized swaths of territory.
The STC is also a key member of the government – a fractious patchwork of groups held together by its opposition to the Houthi rebels who control swaths of northern and western Yemen including the capital Sanaa. Monitoring Desk
