A Saudi Arabia-led coalition on Tuesday bombed the Mukalla port in Yemen over an arms shipment for the Southern Transitional Council (STC) that allegedly came from the UAE.
Officials in Riyadh said the strikes targeted a weapons shipment and combat vehicles that were being offloaded in Yemen from ships coming from the neighbouring UAE, and warned its neighbour against supporting advances by separatists in Yemen, saying it was “extremely dangerous”.
The Saudi state news agency, SPA, confirmed on Tuesday that “crews of the two ships disabled their tracking systems and unloaded a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles to support the Southern Transitional Council forces”.
“Given the nature and destructive nature of these weapons…the coalition air forces carried out a calculated military response on Tuesday morning targeting weapons and combat vehicles that had been offloaded from two cargo ships at the port of Al-Mukalla,” it said.
It also said the operation was conducted “in accordance with international humanitarian law”, and no collateral damage was reported from the site.
The statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry directly linked the Emirates to the recent advances of the STC. Previously too, it warned the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, saying it would back the Yemeni government’s military escalations against separatist forces in southern Yemen that are attempting to revive the formerly independent state.
In a post on X, Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said “troops from the separatist STC should peacefully hand over two regional governorates to the government.”
“It’s time,” he posted, “at this sensitive moment, to let reason prevail by withdrawing from the two provinces and doing so peacefully.”
However, the STC warned that they were undeterred after the strikes and rejected Saudi’s offer.
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In the past few weeks, the STC has taken control of large swathes of the country by driving out government forces and their allies.
Meanwhile, the United States has urged both sides to prevent further escalations and respect the territorial sovereignty of the countries, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that they “urge restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to reaching a lasting solution.”
Yemen’s pro-Saudi government has repeatedly accused the UAE of fuelling, funding and backing terrorist groups operating in the country.
The UAE has been constantly scrutinised for its actions and the role it is purportedly playing in escalating crisis in Sudan as well.
It is pertinent to mention that Saudi Arabia has recently signed a defence pact with Pakistan, meaning an attack on Riyadh would directly drag Pakistan into the conflict.
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