₦airaland Forum

Anti-Houthi forces in Yemen declare state of emergency after Saudi strikes on arms shipment

Move follows Saudi airstrikes on Yemen’s port of Mukalla targeting weapons allegedly bound for UAE-backed separatists, deepening tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and raising fears of a wider rift within the anti-Houthi camp
News agencies | published:07:58

Yemen’s anti‑Houthi forces declared a state of emergency Tuesday and imposed a 72‑hour ban on border crossings, airports and seaports in areas they control after Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes targeting what Riyadh said was a weapons shipment bound for separatist forces backed by the United Arab Emirates.

The strikes hit the port city of Mukalla, where Saudi jets targeted armored vehicles and weapons allegedly offloaded from ships that arrived from the UAE. Saudi officials said the shipment was intended for the UAE‑aligned Southern Transitional Council, a powerful separatist faction in Yemen’s long‑running conflict.

Yemen’s separatist authorities said they were banning all border crossings in territory under their control as well as access to airports and seaports except those authorized by Saudi authorities. The emergency declaration reflected growing tensions between Riyadh and its former partner Abu Dhabi over the conflict.

The Saudi‑backed head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashad al‑Alimi, also issued a statement Tuesday ordering all UAE forces in Yemen to leave within 24 hours.

A military statement carried by the state‑run Saudi Press Agency said the strikes followed the arrival of vessels, including one identified by analysts as the Greenland, at Mukalla, which allegedly unloaded weapons and combat vehicles.

"The ships' crew had the disabled tracking devices aboard the vessels, and unloaded a large amount of weapons and combat vehicles in support of the Southern Transitional Council's forces," it said. "Considering that the aforementioned weapons constitute an imminent threat, and an escalation that threatens peace and stability, the Coalition Air Force has conducted this morning a limited airstrike that targeted weapons and military vehicles offloaded from the two vessels in Mukalla," it added.

It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties in the Mukalla strikes or if any forces beyond Saudi Arabia took part. The Saudi military said the attack was timed to minimize collateral damage. The Southern Transitional Council’s AIC satellite news channel acknowledged the strikes without offering details.

Mukalla is in Yemen’s Hadramout province, which the Southern Transitional Council has seized in recent days. The city lies about 300 miles (480 kilometers) northeast of Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government after Houthi rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

The port assault marks a fresh escalation in frictions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two Gulf powers whose relationship has been strained by competing interests in Yemen and beyond. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have backed different factions in the decade‑long war against Iran‑aligned Houthi rebels and have also supported opposing sides in the conflict in Sudan.

The Saudi action in Mukalla came days after Riyadh carried out airstrikes against Southern Transitional Council positions, which analysts described as warnings aimed at curbing the separatists’ advances into the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra. Separatist forces had pushed out units aligned with Yemen’s Saudi‑backed National Shield Forces, further complicating the coalition dynamics.

The Southern Transitional Council has increasingly flown the flag of the former South Yemen — an independent state from 1967 to 1990 — and its recent advances have sparked rallies supporting secession, according to social media footage and local reports.

Analyst Mohammed al‑Basha, founder of risk advisory firm the Basha Report, said the Saudi strikes could curb future arms flows from the UAE to the Southern Transitional Council, especially as Saudi Arabia controls Yemen’s airspace. He predicted a “calibrated escalation” as both sides adjust to the new confrontation.

This breaking development comes amid wider regional tensions. In a separate diplomatic move, Israel over the weekend recognized the independent status of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland — the first such recognition in over three decades — drawing threats from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have vowed to attack any Israeli presence there.


https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ry4t7e11vwl

Tomorrow, their stooges here will blame israel.

Two Muslim countries fighting dirty in a Muslim country.
Weeks ago anti-semites were on Israel's neck for bombing Yemen, but now Saudi is 'genociding' the same Yemen and crooks are quiet? 🤮🤣

Rose Gold 🍷

Goldrosewine:
Two Muslim countries fighting dirty in a Muslim country.
Weeks ago anti-semites were on Israel's neck for bombing Yemen, but now Saudi is 'genociding' the same Yemen and crooks are quiet? 🤮🤣

Rose Gold 🍷

3 Muslim countries because there is Iran in the equation

Goldrosewine:
Two Muslim countries fighting dirty in a Muslim country.
Weeks ago anti-semites were on Israel's neck for bombing Yemen, but now Saudi is 'genociding' the same Yemen and crooks are quiet? 🤮🤣

Rose Gold 🍷

As long as muslims are the ones doing the killings, no issues to them. They prefer that they kill others, while they sit idle looking on

Watcharena:
3 Muslim countries because there is Iran in the equation

Na dem dey behind the evil happening in Sudan, hence, no outrage.