Saudi Arabia yesterday bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla after a weapons shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived for separatist forces in the war-torn country, and starkly warned that it viewed Emirati actions as “extremely dangerous.”
The bombing followed days of tensions over the advance of separatist forces known as the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the Emirates.
Despite the warning, the council and its allies issued a statement supporting the UAE’s presence, even as others allied with Saudi Arabia demanded Emirati forces withdraw from Yemen within 24 hours.
Photo: AFP
The confrontation threatened to open a new front in Yemen’s decade-long war, with forces allied against the Iranian-backed Houthis possibly turning their sights on each other in the Arab world’s poorest nation long stalked by famine and disease.
“I expect a calibrated escalation from both sides. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council is likely to respond by consolidating control,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert and the founder of the Basha Report, a risk advisory firm.
“At the same time, the flow of weapons from the UAE to the STC is set to be curtailed following the port attack, particularly as Saudi Arabia controls the airspace.”
A military statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the strikes, which it said came after ships arrived there from Fujairah, a port city on the UAE’s eastern coast.
“The ships’ crew had the disabled tracking devices aboard the vessels, and unloaded a large amount of weapons and combat vehicles in support of the Southern Transitional Council’s forces,” the statement said.
“Considering that the aforementioned weapons constitute an imminent threat, and an escalation that threatens peace and stability, the Coalition Air Force has conducted this morning a limited airstrike that targeted weapons and military vehicles offloaded from the two vessels in Mukalla,” it added.
It was not clear if there were any casualties from the strike.
Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces later declared a state of emergency, ending its cooperation with the UAE and ordering all Emirati forces within its territory to evacuate within 24 hours. It issued a 72-hour ban on all border crossings in territory they hold, as well as entries to airports and seaports, except those allowed by Saudi Arabia.
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