Web Desk: After Saudi led coalition strikes on Yemen, it’s internationally recognised leadership has ordered United Arab Emirates forces to leave the country within 24 hours and announced a sweeping temporary blockade of all ports and border crossings, sharply escalating tensions after a Saudi-led coalition air strike targeted the port of Mukalla.
Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said Yemen was cancelling its joint defense agreement with the UAE and would impose a 72-hour air, land and sea blockade across the country. The decision came amid mounting diplomatic fallout over a limited Saudi-led military operation in eastern Yemen.
Meanwhile, the UAE rejected Saudi Arabia’s accusations outright and said it was disappointed by Riyadh’s public statements on Yemen. In a statement, Abu Dhabi denied any role in arming Yemeni separatist forces and said vessels docked at Mukalla port were not carrying weapons.
The UAE said the ships were linked to Emirati forces rather than Yemeni armed groups and urged all parties to deal responsibly with recent developments to avoid further escalation. It also described the Saudi-led strike on Mukalla as surprising and warned against actions that could inflame an already fragile situation.
Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition said it carried out a precise and limited air operation targeting weapons and military vehicles unloaded at Mukalla port, which it said were destined for the Southern Transitional Council in eastern Yemen.
Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said two vessels entered the port on Dec. 27 and 28 after departing from Fujairah without authorization from the coalition’s joint forces command. He added that the ships’ crews had switched off tracking systems before unloading large quantities of arms and military vehicles.
According to al-Maliki, the shipment was intended to fuel conflict in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah provinces, undermining de-escalation efforts and violating U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216.
Saudi Arabia has since demanded that the UAE withdraw its forces from Yemen within 24 hours in line with requests from the Yemeni government and immediately halt all military and financial support to any Yemeni faction.
In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry said dialogue remained the only path to peace in Yemen and accused the UAE of pressuring the Southern Transitional Council into actions that threaten Saudi national security, Yemen’s stability and regional security.
Riyadh said any threat to its national security would be treated as a red line, while reaffirming full support for Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and its government. It also called for a comprehensive political process that includes all Yemeni parties, including southern groups, and stressed the importance of Gulf unity, brotherhood and good neighbourly relations.
The rapid sequence of military action, diplomatic recriminations and Yemen’s decision to sever defence ties with the UAE underscores deepening fractures within the Saudi-led alliance, raising fresh questions about the future of coordination in a conflict that has already dragged on for nearly a decade.
Read more: Saudi Arabia gives 24-hour deadline for UAE forces to withdraw from Yemen
