Saudi Arabia Strikes UAE Arms Shipment to Yemeni Separatists Amid Rising Tensions

Saudi Arabia has attacked an arms shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) separatist forces in Yemen, escalating tensions between the two Gulf allies who support opposing factions in the country’s ongoing civil war. The airstrike, carried out on Tuesday, has deepened the rift between Riyadh, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and Abu Dhabi, which supports the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist group seeking to revive the former independent state of South Yemen.

In response to recent advances by UAE-backed separatists in southern Yemen, the Yemeni government declared a state of emergency and terminated a security pact with the UAE, issuing a 24-hour deadline for all Emirati forces to withdraw. Riyadh described the UAE’s actions as “extremely dangerous” and a direct threat to both the kingdom and regional security, pushing the two nations closer to confrontation.

Saudi-led coalition forces struck two ships in the southern port city of Mukalla carrying “a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles” for the STC, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The vessels had departed from Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast, and the overnight operation was reportedly conducted to minimise collateral damage.

The strikes follow Saudi air raids on STC forces on Friday after they seized control of much of the oil-rich Hadhramaut province and neighbouring al-Mahra. Washington has urged restraint as tensions rise, with U.S. officials calling for diplomacy to achieve a lasting resolution.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Council, condemned the separatist advance as “an unacceptable rebellion” during a televised address. Yemen’s government remains a coalition of factions, including the STC, united primarily by opposition to the Houthis, Iran-backed rebels who captured Sanaa in 2014 and control much of northern Yemen.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined an Arab coalition in 2015 to counter Houthi advances, though Abu Dhabi has gradually reduced its involvement, allowing the Houthis to strengthen. In addition, the Houthis have targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea over the past two years in support of Hamas in Gaza, although these strikes have decreased following the ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

STC supporters have continued to mobilise in southern cities demanding independence for South Yemen, unified with the north in 1990. Large demonstrations were held in Aden on Saturday, with participants waving both the South Yemen and UAE flags. Meanwhile, around 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters remain massed near the border, prepared but not yet ordered to advance against separatist positions.