The chairman of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council declares a state of emergency and cancels a defence pact with the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia carries out airstrikes against ships carrying weapons for the separatists. Already caught up in a conflict with pro-Iranian rebels, Yemen is a risk of further violence and chaos. In the background, Israel recognises an independent Somaliland, ostensibly as part of its war against the Houthis (and Tehran).

Riyadh (AsiaNews) – Amid rising tensions that threaten to turn a local clash into a regional conflict, the leader of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council declares a state of emergency and scraps a security pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The progress on the ground of the past few days by separatist forces close to the UAE is reportedly behind the break, and the head-on confrontation between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

“The Joint Defence Agreement with the United Arab Emirates is hereby canceled," reads a statement issued by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), while a separate decree announces a 90-day state of emergency that includes a 72-hour air, sea, and land blockade.

The announcements by PLC chairman Rashad al-Alimi come as the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels (who control the capital Sana'a) reportedly attacked a weapons shipment destined for the separatists.

UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (SCT) forces seized southern Yemen this month, taking control of most of the resource-rich Hadramout province and large swathes of neighbouring Mahrah.

In a televised speech, Alimi announced the end of the defence deal with the UAE, ordering SCT forces to hand the territory back to Saudi-backed forces, calling the separatists' advance an "unacceptable rebellion" in a country torn by civil war.

The latest development risks further shattering Yemen's already weak unity, further undermining its shaky government, which includes several factions backed by oil-rich Gulf powers, primarily Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Growing tensions also threaten the already slow peace negotiations with the Houthis, who overthrew the internationally recognised government in 2014, triggering a military intervention by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have previously clashed on Yemeni territory, raising fears of another dangerous escalation in the region.

In 2018, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi brokered a phoney peace that failed to resolve long-standing and unresolved issues, at the urging of the United States, during Donald Trump's first administration, which sought to stabilise the region and shore up the anti-Iranian front.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs today waded into the dispute, issuing an appeal to the parties involved.

“The Kingdom stresses the importance of the sisterly state of the United Arab Emirates responding to the Republic of Yemen's request for the withdrawal of its military forces from the Republic of Yemen within 24 hours, and for the cessation of any military or financial support to any party inside Yemen," the foreign ministry said in a statement published online.

For Riyadh, national security is a red line, given its territorial proximity to its divided neighbour, whose territory has been used in the past to fire rockets into Saudi Arabia itself.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes over the weekend at a Yemeni port where two vessels with unauthorised and suspicious cargo from the UAE port of Fujairah had docked.

After arriving in Mukalla, the ships disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles to support separatist forces.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) had previously rejected calls to withdraw its forces from the eastern governorates of Hadramout and Mahrah, saying it was close to declaring an autonomous state in the south.

The latest developments come at a time when Israel formally recognised the Republic of Somaliland. Located in the Horn of Africa, the de facto independent state comprises Somalia’s northern provinces but enjoys very limited international recognition.

This move, which is believed to be designed to give Israel a strategic foothold in the region to better counter attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen, has sparked controversy in the region and around the world.

One of the leading critics is Turkey, which has made significant investments in Somalia over the past 13 years and is certainly unwilling to see Somalia cede any territory, and which is already opposed to the Jewish state over its war in Gaza against Hamas that killed tens of thousands of civilians.

It is equally noteworthy to point out that Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's announcement was met with condemnation from many Arab and Middle Eastern countries, with the notable exception of the United Arab Emirates.

• yemen
• saudi arabia
• united arab emirates
• uae
• turkey
• israel
• somaliland
• houthi
• separatism