Move comes after Riyadh accused Abu Dhabi of backing separatists in Yemen and bombed what it said was an Emirati-weapons shipment in the port of Mukalla.
Saudi Arabia has released more details on the coalition bombing of the Yemeni port of Mukalla, which has triggered tensions with Gulf Arab neighbour the United Arab Emirates and prompted the latter to say it will withdraw its forces from Yemen.
Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki showed images documenting the military operation carried out early on Tuesday morning.
He stated that upon entering the port of Mukalla, it became clear that the two ships were carrying more than 80 vehicles and containers of weapons and ammunition. He added that the UAE side transferred vehicles, containers, and Emirati personnel to the al-Rayyan base without informing Saudi Arabia.
The spokesman said the coalition adhered to the rules of engagement during the military operation.
The UAE announced the withdrawal of its forces from Yemen, declaring an end to what it called “counterterrorism” operations there, after Riyadh accused Abu Dhabi of supporting separatists in Yemen.
The announcement on Tuesday came after Yemen’s internationally recognised government demanded the UAE pull its forces from the country within 24 hours, a call backed by Saudi Arabia.
Hours earlier, Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces attacked the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla, targeting what Riyadh said was a UAE-linked weapons shipment destined for the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen.
The STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthi rebels, launched an offensive against the Saudi Arabia-backed government troops this month, seeking an independent state in the south.
The advance broke years of deadlock, with the STC seizing control of broad swaths of southern Yemen, including the Hadramout and Mahara provinces, in defiance of warnings from Riyadh. Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia, and Mahara is close to the border.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it was disappointed about “pressure exerted by the UAE” on the STC to conduct military operations in the Hadramout and Mahara provinces. Riyadh said it considered the moves a threat to its national security.
“In this context, the kingdom stresses 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 neutralise any such threat,” it said.
Hesham Alghannam, a Saudi scholar with the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, said the kingdom’s move “made it very clear” that it views Yemen’s eastern provinces, especially Hadramout, as a “core national security matter”.
Riyadh views the region as critical, Alghannam said, because of its geography and strategic oil and port assets. “From Riyadh’s view, losing influence there would be more than a local setback,” he told Al Jazeera. “It would create a major security gap, it would weaken energy resilience and open space for hostile or competing powers to position themselves directly south of the kingdom.”
Following Tuesday’s rapid-fire events, the UAE’s Ministry of Defence said it carried out a “comprehensive assessment” of its role in Yemen and decided to end its mission there.
“In light of recent developments and their potential implications for the safety and effectiveness of counterterrorism missions, the Ministry of Defence announces the termination of the remaining counterterrorism personnel in Yemen of its own volition, in a manner that ensures the safety of its personnel,” the ministry said in a statement.
The UAE announcement came amid efforts to tamp down tensions that have erupted in recent days.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the statements of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which it said reflected a “commitment to prioritising the interests of the region, strengthening the principles of good neighbourliness, and adhering to the foundations and principles upon which the GCC Charter is based”.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held telephone conversations with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, discussing “regional developments”.
Tensions over the STC
The Saudi-led coalition’s strike on Mukalla revealed widening tensions within a coalition built in 2015 to combat the Houthis, who control most of northern Yemen.
Emirati troops first arrived in Yemen as part of the coalition that year, but the UAE pulled most of its forces out in 2019, leaving only a limited number in the government-run south.
Following the Mukalla strike, which did not cause casualties, Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, dissolved a defence pact with the UAE and gave Emirati forces 24 hours to leave.
In a televised speech, al-Alimi said it had been “definitively confirmed that the UAE pressured and directed the STC to undermine and rebel against the authority of the state through military escalation”, according to the Yemeni state news agency.
Saudi Arabia backed al-Alimi’s call for the UAE to withdraw its forces from Yemeni territory, and asked that it halt “any military or financial support to any party” in the country.
The UAE said it had been surprised by the Saudi Arabian air strike, and that the shipments in question did not contain weapons and were destined for the Emirati forces, rather than the STC.
It said it was committed to ensuring the security of Saudi Arabia and that it was seeking a solution “that prevents escalation, based on reliable facts and existing coordination”.
Yemeni state television showed what it said was black smoke rising from the port in the early morning, with burned vehicles. Al-Alimi declared a no-fly zone, and a sea and ground blockade on all ports and crossings for 72 hours.
However, the STC remained defiant, insisting there was “no thinking about withdrawal” from its newly seized positions.
“It is unreasonable for the landowner to be asked to leave his own land. The situation requires staying and reinforcing,” STC spokesman Anwar al-Tamimi told the AFP news agency.
“We are in a defensive position, and any movement towards our forces will be responded to by our forces,” he added.
Alghannam said the announced Emirati withdrawal would not necessarily have a destabilising influence in Yemen, although challenges could arise if the withdrawal is “partial”.
Such fragmentation, he said, “benefits the Houthis the most as anti-Houthi forces become divided and distracted.
C. Al Jazeera
