Saudi Arabia just bombed its own ally's port over a mysterious weapons shipment. The Saudi-led coalition conducted an airstrike on the Yemeni port of Mukalla, targeting what it claimed were weapons and military vehicles destined for UAE-backed separatist forces, known as the Southern Transitional Council. Following the strike, the head of Yemen's presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, cancelled a joint defense pact with the United Arab Emirates and issued a twenty-four-hour ultimatum for Emirati forces to withdraw, declaring a ninety-day state of emergency. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry publicly backed this demand, accusing the UAE of pressuring the STC to launch recent offensives in the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and al-Mahra.
The UAE strongly denied the allegations, expressing deep regret over the Saudi statement and claiming the shipment contained only vehicles for its own troops, not weapons for any Yemeni faction. STC leaders rejected the withdrawal ultimatum as having no legal basis, insisting they remain a main partner against the Iran-backed Houthis movement, which controls northwestern Yemen. This public rift between the two coalition members exposes severe fractures within the anti-Houthi alliance, originally formed to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government. The STC, which seeks southern independence, had previously seized control of Aden and much of the south from government forces, creating an ongoing internal conflict alongside the wider civil war.
The UAE strongly denied the allegations, expressing deep regret over the Saudi statement and claiming the shipment contained only vehicles for its own troops, not weapons for any Yemeni faction. STC leaders rejected the withdrawal ultimatum as having no legal basis, insisting they remain a main partner against the Iran-backed Houthis movement, which controls northwestern Yemen. This public rift between the two coalition members exposes severe fractures within the anti-Houthi alliance, originally formed to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government. The STC, which seeks southern independence, had previously seized control of Aden and much of the south from government forces, creating an ongoing internal conflict alongside the wider civil war.
