Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemeni port over unauthorized arms shipment | Conflict News

The Saudi-led coalition carried out a targeted strike on Yemen’s Mukalla port, accusing foreign-backed ships of delivering weapons to southern separatists.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen carried out a “limited military operation” targeting what it described as foreign military support at the Mukalla port, days after warning the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatist group against military action in Hadramout province.

Coalition air forces carried out a military operation early Tuesday, targeting unloaded weapons and vehicles, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said two ships entered Mukalla port on Saturday and Sunday without coalition authorization, disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles “in support” of the STC.

The head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed presidential council, Rashad al Alimi, said on Tuesday after the airstrike that all UAE forces must leave Yemen within 24 hours.

“Given the danger and escalation posed by these weapons…coalition air forces this morning conducted a limited military operation targeting weapons and combat vehicles that had been unloaded from the two ships at al-Mukalla port,” SPA reported.

Two sources told the Reuters news agency that the strike specifically targeted the dock where the cargo was unloaded. The coalition said there were no casualties or collateral damage and stressed that the operation was carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The strike comes amid heightened tensions following an offensive carried out earlier this month by the STC against coalition-backed Yemeni government troops.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud said on X that STC troops should “peacefully hand over” two regional governorates to the government. For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for “restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to achieving a lasting solution”.

A divided Yemen

The STC was initially part of the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, but the group later sought autonomy in southern Yemen. Since 2022, the STC, which has already received aid from the United Arab Emirates, has controlled southern territories outside Houthi areas under a Saudi-backed power-sharing deal.

In recent weeks, however, the STC has swept across large swaths of the country, expelling other government forces and their allies.