DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates called for “restraint and wisdom” on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia accused it of backing an offensive by separatists in Yemen, while disputing Riyadh’s allegations against it.
Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen's port city of Mukalla on Tuesday after a weapons shipment from the United Arab Emirates arrived for separatist forces in the war-torn country, and starkly warned that it viewed Emirati actions as “extremely dangerous.”
The UAE denied shipping weapons but acknowledged the vehicle shipment. Abu Dhabi claimed it was for its own forces, without offering more details. The UAE broadly withdrew its forces years earlier in Yemen.
The bombing followed days of tensions over the advance of the separatist forces known as the Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the Emirates. Despite the warning, the Council and its allies issued a statement supporting the UAE's presence, even as others allied with Saudi Arabia demanded Emirati forces withdraw from Yemen within 24 hours' time.
The confrontation threatened to open a new front in Yemen's decade-long war, with forces allied against the Iranian-backed Houthis possibly turning their sights on each other in the Arab world's poorest nation long stalked by famine and disease.
It also further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighboring nations on the Arabian Peninsula that increasingly have competed with each other over economic issues and the region’s politics, particularly in the wider Red Sea region.
“I expect a calibrated escalation from both sides. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council is likely to respond by consolidating control,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert and the founder of the Basha Report, a risk advisory firm.
“At the same time, the flow of weapons from the UAE to the STC is set to be curtailed following the port attack, particularly as Saudi Arabia controls the airspace.”