File image.
Saudi Arabia has bombed an arms shipment sent by the United Arab Emirates to its allies in Yemen, and issued a warning to Abu Dhabi giving it 24 hours to completely withdraw from the country, de-facto ending an alliance that was forged around a decade ago.
Tensions began in Yemen earlier in the month, when the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched a military operation across the south of the country, beginning in the Hadhramaut province, which was then under the control of the internationally-recognized government of Yemen allied to Saudi Arabia.
The STC moved in and captured several areas belonging to the Yemeni government in the northern Wadi Hadhramaut area, including the main cities of Seiyun and Tarim.
Afterward, the separatists expanded their offensive into the neighboring Al-Mahra province, and other adjacent governorates.
The STC codenamed the offensive as “Operation Promising Future”. By December 9, the council forces had captured most of the regions comprising the six governorates of the former South Yemen, expanding control along the border with Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom first took action on December 26, conducting a few airstrikes on STC positions in Wadi Nahb in Hadhramaut.
With political efforts to solve the issue with the UAE failing and the STC ignoring several warnings, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition struck on December 30 foreign military support at Mukalla port in southern Yemen.
A coalition spokesperson said two ships arriving from the UAE port of Fujairah entered Mukalla on December 27 and 28 without authorization from the coalition, disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles “to support the STC.”
The spokesman, Col. Turki al-Maliki, claimed that there were no casualties or collateral damage from the airstrikes at Mukalla.
A video was released showing, according to the Arab Coalition, weapons transfers after the two vessels docked at the port.
Al-Maliki noted that the airstrikes were carried out after the weapons transfers were documented and done in accordance with international humanitarian law.
“This constitutes a clear violation of the de-escalation measures and efforts to reach a peaceful solution, as well as a breach of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2216 of 2015,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“We will continue to prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni faction without coordination with the legitimate government,” he added.
Following the airstrikes, Saudi Arabia said that it was disappointed by steps taken by the UAE to pressure the STC to operate near the Kingdom’s borders.
In a statement released by the foreign ministry, it warned that such actions threaten its national security and undermine the foundations of the Arab Coalition in Yemen.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its disappointment by the actions taken by the brotherly United Arab Emirates, pressuring the Southern Transitional Council’s forces to conduct military operations on the southern borders of the Kingdom in the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahara, which is considered a threat to the Kingdom’s national security and the security and stability of the Republic of Yemen and the region,” the statement reads
“The steps taken by the UAE are considered highly dangerous, inconsistent with the principles upon which the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen was established, and do not serve the coalition’s purpose of achieving security and stability for Yemen,” it adds.
The kingdom said that “any threat to its national security is a red line, and the Kingdom will not hesitate to take all necessary steps and measures to confront and neutralize any such threat.”
More importantly, Saudi Arabia urged the UAE to comply with Yemen’s request to withdraw its forces from Yemeni territories within 24 hours.
The demand mirrors an earlier call by Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad al-Alimi, an ally of the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have always been allies. However, after the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in 2015, the two counties became closer than ever, acting together on all regional and international issues. Now with the crisis in Yemen, this period is over.
While the STC operation in Yemen brought the deep disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen to light, signs emerged earlier in Sudan.
A month earlier, Saudi Arabia lobbied the United States to help end the civil war in Yemen. Bin Salman sought to leverage the influence of President Donald Trump as a peacemaker, with the request tied to curbing UAE arms supplies to the Rapid Support Forces, which is fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE will not likely go into a confrontation, not in Yemen or anywhere else. The two could reconcile soon. However, they will never likely be as close as before.
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muisliemes and specially eyerabs are so weird, they fight against their own, while jude and christian eat their lunch. are most of them gey or something
in your face now, the kingdoms versus the republics globally.