The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula has been plunged since 2014 into a devastating confrontation between the government — a merger of groups that includes separatist formations — and the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
O declared a state of emergency this Tuesday (30) in the face of the advance of separatist formations, which further complicates a long war in the country, in which several regional powers are involved, such as Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula has been plunged since 2014 into a devastating confrontation between the government — a merger of groups that includes separatist formations — and the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran.
The conflict worsened in 2015, with the intervention of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, with the aim of supporting the authorities. A truce established in 2022 was largely respected, but a new front opened in early December when a separatist force backed by the United Arab Emirates seized large areas of the southern territory.
This force, called the Southern Transitional Council (CTS), is part of the government and seeks to revive the former South Yemen. Saudi Arabia accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the separatists, which it classified as a “threat” to its security and the region.
“The measures taken by the sister state of the United Emirates are extremely dangerous”, denounced the Saudi Foreign Ministry this Tuesday in a statement. The country also urged the UAE to withdraw its forces from Yemen within 24 hours, following a similar call from Yemeni authorities.
The new tensions threaten to further weaken the country on the Arabian Peninsula, ravaged by one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and where hundreds of thousands of people have died since the start of the war.
Defense pact annulled
Saudi Arabia and the UAE support rival groups within the Yemeni government. The separatist advances have strained relations between both countries, which have traditionally joined forces against the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa.
The Presidential Council, supported by Riyadh, announced this Tuesday the annulment of a defense pact with the Emirates and imposed a state of emergency throughout the territory for 90 days. The measure is taken after the attack by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia on a shipment of weapons destined for the separatists.
“The crews of the two ships disabled their tracking systems and unloaded a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles to support the Southern Transitional Council forces,” Saudi news agency SPA reported.
“Due to the danger and escalation posed by these weapons (…), coalition forces carried out this morning a controlled military operation directed against weapons and combat vehicles that had been unloaded from the two ships in the port of Al Mukalla,” he added.
A port official said an evacuation warning was received at 4:00 am local time (10:00 pm in Brasília, Monday). AFP images show charred vehicles at the port and firefighters trying to put out the fire.
Residents of nearby buildings were affected. “Our windows have broken, doors have fallen, children and women are terrified,” Abdala Bazuhair told AFP. “It is unacceptable, who will compensate us?”, he added.
The attack was launched days after Saudi shelling of separatist positions in the Yemeni province of Hadramawt. In the statement published this Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry regrets that the Emirates have “encouraged” the separatists to launch military operations on the “southern border of the kingdom (…)” of Yemen.
The head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, called for “moderation” on Friday, but avoided taking sides between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both partners of Washington. Faced with the advance of the separatists, the Yemeni government recognized by the international community on Friday urged the military coalition led by Riyadh to take “measures”.
*With AFP
