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Saudi Arabia Israel bombed the Yemeni port city of Mukalla on Tuesday, allegedly over a shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates for separatist forces there. The kingdom later directly United Arab Emirates warns of recent advances by Yemeni separatists abu dhabi His behavior was “extremely dangerous”.
The attack marked another escalation in tensions between the kingdom and the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council.
It also further sours relations between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which has backed competing sides in Yemen’s decade-long war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, amid unrest throughout the situation. Red Sea area. Although the two countries are closely aligned on many issues in the greater Middle East, they are increasingly competing over economic issues and the politics of the region.
Yemen’s anti-Houthi rebels subsequently declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. It issued a 72-hour ban on all border crossings and access to airports and seaports in the territory it controls, except those allowed by Saudi Arabia.
Air attack on Mukalla
A military statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the attack, saying it was carried out after the ship arrived there from the UAE east coast port city of Fujairah.
“The crew equipped the ship with deactivated tracking devices and offloaded a large number of weapons and combat vehicles in support of Southern Transitional Council forces,” the statement said.
“Considering the imminent threat posed by the above-mentioned weapons and the escalation of the threat to peace and stability, coalition air forces conducted a limited air strike this morning targeting weapons and military vehicles unloaded from two ships in Mukalla,” the statement added.
It was unclear whether there were any casualties in the attack or whether other forces besides Saudi Arabia were involved. The Saudi military said it carried out the attack overnight to ensure “no collateral damage occurred.”
The UAE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The strike was reported by The National, Abu Dhabi’s official English-language newspaper.
The council’s AIC satellite news channel acknowledged the attack but gave no details.
The target of the attack was likely a ship identified by analysts as the Greenland, a roll-on-roll-off ship suspended off the island of St. Kitts. Tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the ship arrived in Fujairah on Dec. 22 and Mukalla on Sunday. The second ship was not immediately identifiable.
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemeni expert and founder of risk consultancy Basha Report, cited social media videos purportedly showing new armored vehicles driving past Mukalla after the ship arrived. The ship’s owner is located in Dubaicould not immediately be reached.
“I expect there will be targeted escalation from both sides. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council will likely respond by consolidating control,” Basha said. “At the same time, the flow of weapons from the UAE to strategic technology hubs will be restricted following the port attack, especially with Saudi Arabia controlling the airspace.”
Video later aired by Saudi state television appeared to have been shot by a surveillance plane and purportedly showed armored vehicles moving through Mukalla on their way to a staging area. The vehicle type matches the social media video.
Strikes follow as separatists advance
Mukalla is located in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, which the Security Council has occupied in recent days. The port city is about 480 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of Aden, which has been the seat of power for Yemen’s anti-Houthi rebels since rebels captured the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
The attack in Mukalla came after Saudi Arabia carried out an airstrike on the Security Council on Friday, which analysts said was a warning to separatists to stop their advance and leave the Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces.
The Security Council has kicked out forces belonging to the Saudi-backed National Shield, another group in the coalition fighting the Houthis.
Countries allied to the Security Council increasingly fly the flag of South Yemen, which was an independent country from 1967 to 1990. Demonstrators have been rallying for days in support of political forces calling for South Yemen to break away from Yemen again.
Separatist actions have put pressure on relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The two countries have close ties and are both members of the OPEC oil cartel, but have also competed for influence and international business in recent years.
Violence has also escalated in Sudan, another country on the Red Sea coast, where it and the UAE back rival forces in the country’s ongoing war.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday directly linking Security Council developments to the UAE for the first time.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notes that the steps taken by its sister country, the United Arab Emirates, are extremely dangerous,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Israel recognized Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state, the first time it has done so in more than 30 years. This has sparked concerns among the Houthis, who have threatened to attack any Israeli presence in Somaliland.