Saudi-backed head of Yemen's presidential council tells UAE to leave

The head of Yemen's presidential council called on Tuesday for all United Arab Emirates forces to leave the country within 24 hours, shortly after an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition at the southern port of Mukalla.

The coalition said the strike targeted foreign military support for the UAE-backed southern separatists, whose offensive this month pitted the Southern Transitional Council (STC) against Saudi-supported Yemeni government troops, bringing the two Gulf allies closer than ever to an all-out conflict.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since 2014.

The coalition said the limited air strike followed the weekend arrival of two ships from the UAE port of Fujairah on Saturday and Sunday without its authorisation.

After arriving in Mukalla, the vessels disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles to support the STC, it added.

Yemen's presidential council head, Rashad al-Alimi, canceled a defense pact with the UAE and set a 24-hour deadline for all Emirati forces to leave Yemen, the state news agency said.

In a televised speech, Alimi accused the UAE of fueling internal strife in Yemen.

"Unfortunately, it has been definitively confirmed that the United Arab Emirates pressured and directed the STC to undermine and rebel against the authority of the state through military escalation," he said.

The UAE's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia had warned the main southern separatist group against military moves in the eastern province of Hadramout and asked for the withdrawal of its forces after they claimed broad control of the south in an escalation after years of stalemate.

The STC dismissed the Saudi call.

The coalition said the Mukalla port strike caused no casualties or collateral damage, Saudi state media said.

Two sources told Reuters that the strike targeted the dock where the cargo of the two ships was unloaded.

UAE-backed forces control large swathes of land in the south including the strategically key province of Hadramout.

Alimi imposed a no fly-zone, sea and ground blockade on all ports and crossings for 72 hours, except for exemptions authorized by the coalition.

Hadramout bordering Saudi Arabia has cultural and historical ties with it, and many prominent Saudis trace their origins to the area.

The STC separatists were initially part of the Saudi-led alliance that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis. But they later decided to seek self-rule in the south.

Since 2022, they have been part of an alliance that controls southern areas outside Houthi control under a Saudi-backed power-sharing initiative.

The Houthis control the northern region, including Sanaa, the capital, after forcing the Saudi-backed government to flee south.

"We will continue to prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni faction without coordination with the legitimate government," the coalition added. —Reuters