Yemen declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on the port city of Mukalla. The strike was carried out on an
arms shipment bound for UAE-backed separatist forces, Riyadh claimed. The anti-Houthi authorities have also terminated a security agreement with the United Arab Emirates, according to an official statement. “The Joint Defence Agreement with the United Arab Emirates is hereby cancelled,” the statement said. Following the attack, authorities imposed a 72-hour ban on all border crossings. Saudi Arabia stated that its airstrikes targeted armored vehicles and weapons offloaded from ships that arrived in Mukalla from Fujairah in the UAE. In a military statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the coalition said the vessels had turned off their tracking systems and were carrying military equipment intended for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a powerful separatist force backed by the UAE. The coalition added that the weapons posed an “imminent threat” to peace and stability, prompting a limited, precise overnight strike aimed at avoiding civilian casualties.
Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen’s Mukalla Port, targeting ships from the UAE carrying armored vehicles and weapons for UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists.
Tensions between Saudi-backed and UAE-backed forces have escalated sharply after pro-UAE forces seized… pic.twitter.com/VJr48aEm4j— ExtraOrdinary (@Extreo_) December 30, 2025
Analysts say the recent Saudi airstrike highlights growing friction between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two close allies that have supported competing groups in Yemen’s decade-long war. While both countries oppose the Houthis, they back rival factions on the ground, according to the Associated Press.
Satellite tracking data indicated that at least one vessel believed to be carrying the weapons had been docked in Fujairah on December 22 before arriving in Mukalla on Sunday.
Mukalla, in Yemen’s Hadramout governorate, is about 480 kilometres northeast of Aden, the interim seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) has recently expanded its presence in the region, pushing out forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces.
The Saudi strike follows earlier airstrikes on Friday, which analysts described as a warning to the STC to halt its advance in Hadramout and neighbouring Mahra. The separatist group has intensified its campaign in recent days, with supporters increasingly flying the flag of former South Yemen, which existed as a separate state until 1990.
The developments come amid broader instability across the Red Sea region, where Saudi Arabia and the UAE also back opposing sides in Sudan’s ongoing conflict. Tensions have further risen after Israel’s recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, a move that prompted threats from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Analysts warn that the situation in eastern Yemen remains volatile, with regional rivalries increasingly complicating efforts to stabilise the war-torn country.
