Yemen's presidential council has ordered all forces of the United Arab Emirates to leave the country within 24 hours, and cancelled a security pact with the UAE as tensions rise in the years-long infighting in which regional powers back different factions.
The Presidential Leadership Council on Tuesday also imposed a state of emergency and a 72-hour ban on all border crossings into the territory they hold.
"The Joint Defence Agreement with the United Arab Emirates is hereby cancelled," according to a statement from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi on Tuesday. At the same time, a separate decree from him announced a 90-day state of emergency, including a 72-hour air, sea, and land blockade.
The statement came as the Saudi-led coalition said it targeted a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles destined for Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces that were being offloaded from ships at Mukalla port in Yemen.
In remarks reported by the Saudi Press Agency, Coalition Forces spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said two vessels arriving from the UAE port of Fujairah entered the port of Mukalla on December 27-28 without securing official authorisation from the coalition’s Joint Forces Command.
The UAE-backed STC, which seeks to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen, has in recent weeks swept through swathes of the country, expelling government forces and their allies.
Tensions escalated after the STC took control of the Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces in December after clashes with government forces.
Alimi ordered the STC to hand over the territory, calling their advance an "unacceptable rebellion" in a televised address.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has said the UAE should respond positively to Yemen’s demand to withdraw its forces within 24 hours and to cease any military or financial support to any party.
A Saudi foreign ministry statement also expressed regret over the pressure exerted by the UAE on STC forces, pushing them to carry out military operations near the southern borders of Saudi Arabia.
Yemen’s presidential council government is a patchwork of groups that also includes STC members and is held together by shared opposition to the Iran-aligned Houthis.
The Houthis pushed the government forces out of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and secured control over most of the north.
