Saudi Arabia’s attack on Mukalla port has sparked tensions with its Gulf Arab neighbor the United Arab Emirates, Yemen’s Arab coalition partner.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said two ships carrying more than 80 vehicles and containers of arms and ammunition destined for the Southern Transitional Council (STC) entered Mukalla port without notifying Saudi Arabia or Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
There are serious disagreements between the two countries’ allies in Yemen, which have now reached a climax and are likely at a tipping point that will affect Yemen.
The Yemeni government lost control of the situation after military clashes between Saudi Arabia and the UAE escalated in December in Hadramawt province, where Mukalla is located.
The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is divided into two factions, each loyal to one political party in this conflict. The differences have smoldered away from the spotlight for years, but have exploded in public in recent days.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are key members of Yemen’s Arab military coalition, formed to counter the Houthis, who took full control of the capital Sanaa by force in 2015 and subsequently imposed their own government.
This conflict of interest between Saudi Arabia and the UAE has gradually escalated since the formation in 2017 of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist political and military force that aspired to become an independent state in the south, South Yemen, from 1967 to 1990.
In early December, STC forces took control of all southern governorates, including Hadramawt and Al-Mahra governorates, crossing a red line that should not be crossed. This did not sit well with Saudi Arabia, where the move was considered a threat to national security.
Hadramawt also represents Yemen’s economic depth with its oil and gas resources and related infrastructure, and is also an important border crossing with Saudi Arabia, making it part of the border security and trade equation.
The recent public clashes between Saudi Arabia and the UAE will cast a dark shadow on Yemen’s political, economic and military situation. Yemeni politics has been divided into two camps, with government members following the external parties to the conflict, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
The clearest consequences of the differences will be seen in the eight-member PLC, an internationally recognized body already divided into camps loyal to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
One faction is led by PLC chairman Rashad al-Alimi and includes Sultan al-Arada, Abdullah al-Alimi Bawajir and Othman Hussein Mujari. The second is led by Aidars al-Zubaidi, head of the STC force, and includes Abdul Rahman al-Maharami (also known as Abu Zarah), Tariq Mohammed Saleh, and Faraj Salmin al-Basani.
Leaders from both sides issued two different statements regarding al Alimi’s call for the UAE to withdraw from Yemen following a Saudi attack on a ship carrying weapons to the STC. One was in favor of the UAE’s withdrawal from Yemen, and the other was against it – demonstrating that they represent the interests of regional actors, while at the same time confirming that Yemen is a site of a proxy war.
Due to rapid developments and a series of events in Yemen’s political situation, Yemen has entered a new phase of civil war between the political and military elements that make up the legitimate government, and new internal conflicts have broken out between many armed groups.
It has also taken focus away from the Houthi rebels in the north, who controlled Sanaa and Yemen’s most populous province.
The main goal of the legitimate Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab coalition was to counter the Houthi takeover. The country is currently on the brink of collapse after more than a decade of armed conflict and is in a new phase of turmoil, which could help the Houthis expand their influence beyond the areas they currently control.
The incident will further weaken the Saudi-led coalition and call into question its cohesion and ability to achieve its declared joint goals against Yemen.
