Yemen’s presidential council cancels UAE defence deal

 

• Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, has decided to cancel the joint defence deal with the United Arab Emirates.
• UAE forces in Yemen must leave within 24 hours, al-Alimi says, announcing an air, land and sea blockade on all ports and crossings for 72 hours.
• His orders come after the ​Saudi-led ‌coalition in Yemen launched a limited air strike targeting ‌what it ‌called foreign military ⁠support to the UAE-backed southern separatists (STC) ‌at Mukalla port.
• The Saudi Foreign Ministry says steps taken by the brotherly state of the UAE are extremely dangerous.

• Saudi Arabia says Yemen’s UAE-backed separatist offensive threatens security

  Saudi Arabia has called the UAE’s support for a separatist offensive in Yemen a “threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as to security and stability in the Republic of Yemen and the region.”

  A statement by the foreign ministry published online added that the “the steps taken by the sisterly state of the United Arab Emirates are extremely dangerous”.
• 15m ago

   (07:20 GMT)

  

  Yemen’s Saudi-backed presidential council says UAE forces must leave

  The head of Yemen’s presidential council, which is backed by the Saudi-led coalition, has ordered all UAE forces to leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours.

  In a televised address, Rashad al-Alimi framed the move as a sovereign requirement, and renewed his praise for Saudi Arabia and the coalition for their support.

  The Yemeni leader has also cancelled the joint defence agreement with the UAE, announced a 72-hour air, land and sea blockade, and declared a state of emergency for 90 days.

  

  Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen [File: Omer Messinger/Getty Images]
• 18m ago

   (07:17 GMT)

  Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemeni port over unauthorised weapons shipment

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

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