The air raids were aimed at a purported weapons delivery coming from the UAE for an Abu Dhabi-supported group vying for control over Yemen’s southern regions
A coalition led by Saudi Arabia has conducted what it described as a “limited airstrike” on a major seaport in Yemen, targeting a purported weapons consignment meant for UAE-backed separatists.
In a Tuesday statement published by Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency SPA, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen — a Saudi-led bloc established in 2015 to combat Houthi rebels at the behest of Yemen’s globally recognized government — stated that the airstrike targeted weapons and combat vehicles unloaded from vessels originating from the UAE. The military supplies were purported to be destined for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is pushing for self-governance in the south.
Per the statement, two ships departed from the UAE’s Fujairah port over the weekend and entered Mukalla — the sole seaport in Yemen’s southern Hadramout governorate — without obtaining government approval. The vessels are said to have turned off their tracking systems and unloaded significant amounts of military gear meant “to support the STC.” Acting on a request from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, coalition air forces launched an attack on the unloaded supplies early Tuesday, claiming no casualties or collateral damage resulted from the strike.
© Getty Images / Elif Acar/Anadolu
The STC separatists first fought alongside the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen following the 2014 civil war outbreak but later shifted their focus to pursuing self-governance in the south.
Since 2022, the STC has controlled most of southern Yemen under a power-sharing deal and taken over extensive areas of land, including parts of the strategically critical Hadramout and Mahrah provinces — both of which share a border with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis control northern Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa, after forcing the Saudi-backed government to relocate south. Tuesday’s airstrike comes on the heels of reports that Saudi Arabia has recently carried out air raids on separatist positions in Hadramout.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide an immediate response. Following the strike, Alimi announced a 90-day state of emergency in Yemen, imposed a 72-hour blockade on air, sea, and land routes, and terminated a security agreement with the UAE. In a televised speech, he commanded the STC to transfer control of territories to Saudi-supported forces, labeled the separatist push an “unacceptable rebellion,” and demanded that UAE troops leave Yemen within a 24-hour period.
Saudi Arabia issued a warning that the UAE’s support for the separatists represents a “threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as to security and stability in Yemen and the wider region,” and called on Abu Dhabi to adhere to Yemen’s demand for the withdrawal of its forces.