DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Yemen’s port city of Mukalla on Tuesday, citing what it described as an imminent security threat following the arrival of a weapons shipment allegedly sent from the United Arab Emirates to separatist forces operating in the area.
In a military statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Riyadh said the strikes targeted weapons and military vehicles unloaded from two vessels that arrived in Mukalla from Fujairah in the UAE. Saudi authorities claimed the ships’ crews had disabled tracking devices before unloading arms and combat vehicles in support of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), an Emirati-backed separatist group.
“The aforementioned weapons constitute an imminent threat and an escalation that threatens peace and stability,” the statement said, adding that coalition air forces conducted a “limited airstrike” against the materiel. There was no immediate confirmation of casualties.
The bombing underscored growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the expanding influence of the STC, whose recent advances in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout governorate have alarmed Riyadh. Analysts warned the confrontation risks opening a new front in Yemen’s decade-long war, pitting nominal allies against one another as they remain opposed to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
UAE officials denied Saudi allegations that they shipped weapons to separatist forces. In a statement issued hours after the strike, the Emirati Foreign Ministry said the vehicles sent to Mukalla were intended “for use by the UAE forces operating in Yemen” and asserted that Saudi Arabia had prior knowledge of the shipment. The ministry called for “the highest levels of coordination, restraint and wisdom” amid what it described as persistent security challenges.
The STC and allied factions issued statements backing the UAE’s presence in Yemen, even as other anti-Houthi groups aligned with Saudi Arabia demanded that Emirati forces withdraw from the country within 24 hours. The STC’s AIC satellite channel aired footage from Mukalla following the strike but avoided showing damage to armored vehicles, warning that attacks on ports and civilian infrastructure would fuel calls for the declaration of a separate South Arabian state.
Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces declared a state of emergency and announced the suspension of cooperation with the UAE. They imposed a 72-hour ban on border crossings, as well as restrictions on airports and seaports under their control, except for those authorized by Saudi Arabia.
According to shipping data analyzed by the Associated Press, one of the vessels believed to have been targeted was the Greenland, flagged out of St. Kitts, which departed Fujairah on Dec. 22 and arrived in Mukalla on Sunday. A second vessel had yet to be identified.
Mukalla, located about 480 kilometers northeast of Aden, has become a focal point after STC forces recently seized control of parts of Hadramout, displacing units affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces. Saudi airstrikes last week against STC positions were widely seen as a warning for the separatists to halt their advance.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday directly linked the STC’s territorial gains to Emirati actions for the first time, describing them as “extremely dangerous.” Allies of the council later signaled they would not retreat, highlighting the deepening rift between the two Gulf neighbors.
The escalation adds to instability in a country already devastated by war that has killed more than 150,000 people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. It also comes as Houthi forces continue attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea corridor, further complicating regional security dynamics.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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