Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemeni port over unauthorised weapons shipment

A Saudi-led coalition reported to Yemen’s Mukalla port, where it reported what it described as foreign military support for southern separatists, hours later, that Saudi Arabia had declared its national security as a “red line” it would defend.

The United Arab Emirates, which purportedly supports separatists, will take the necessary steps to maintain bilateral relations between the Gulf Arab countries, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated in a statement on Tuesday.

Days after warning the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) group against conducting military action in Hadramout province, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen conducted a “limited military operation” at Mukalla port.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition air forces conducted the military operation, which included unloaded weapons and vehicles.

Two ships entered Mukalla port on Saturday and Sunday without the coalition’s permission, according to a spokesman for Turki al-Malki, without the permission of the coalition’s representative, and without their tracking devices had been removed.

Rashad al Alimi, the head of Yemen’s presidential council supported by Saudi Arabia, stated on Tuesday that all United Arab Emirates forces must leave Yemen within 24 hours.

The coalition air forces conducted a limited military operation this morning targeting weapons and combat vehicles that had been loaded from the two ships at the port of al-Mukalla, according to SPA.

According to two sources, the strike specifically targeted the dock where the cargo was being unloaded, according to Reuters news agency. The coalition emphasized that the operation was carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law and that there were no casualties or collateral damage.

Following an earlier this month offensive by the STC against Yemeni government troops supported by the coalition, the STC made the situation even more tense.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud stated on X that the government should “peacefully hand over” two regional governorates. In addition, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state of the United States, urged “restraint and continued diplomacy in order to arrive at a lasting solution.”

Yemen divided

The Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to combat the Houthis initially supported the STC, but the group later vowed to establish self-government in southern Yemen. The STC has controlled southern territories excluding Houthi areas under a Saudi-backed power-sharing arrangement since 2022, which has previously received assistance from the United Arab Emirates.