Saudi Cabinet Stresses UAE Withdrawal from Yemen, Condemns Actions Inconsistent with De-Escalation
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Saudi Cabinet, during a meeting chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to Yemen’s security, stability, and sovereignty, and its full support for the Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and his government. It stressed that the Kingdom will not hesitate to take the necessary measures to confront any threat to its national security.
The Cabinet expressed appreciation for the role of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen in protecting civilians in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, and for its response to President Rashad Al-Alimi’s request to reduce escalation in order to prevent the conflict from widening and to achieve security and stability.
The Saudi Cabinet voiced regret over the deterioration of de-escalation efforts that the Kingdom has sought to uphold, emphasizing that the recent escalation has not served security and stability efforts in Yemen and has not been consistent with the assurances the Kingdom received from the United Arab Emirates.
The Cabinet stated that the Kingdom hopes wisdom will prevail and that the UAE will prioritize the principles of brotherhood, good neighborliness, and close relations with Gulf Cooperation Council states by responding to the Yemeni government’s request for Emirati forces to leave within 24 hours, and by halting any military or financial support to the STC or any other party inside Yemen.
The Cabinet underscored the importance of the UAE taking the necessary steps to preserve bilateral relations with the Kingdom and to strengthen joint cooperation in a way that serves the prosperity and stability of the region. It affirmed that these measures fall within Saudi Arabia’s ongoing commitment to supporting Yemen’s unity and stability and preventing any escalation that threatens Yemen’s security and that of its neighbors.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces issued a decision canceling the Joint Defense Agreement with the United Arab Emirates and requiring Emirati forces to leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours.
The decision—issued pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, the Gulf Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, and the decision to transfer power and establish the Presidential Leadership Council, and under the constitutional authorities vested in the Council’s Chairman—stated that the step aims to protect citizens’ security, affirm Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, stability, and territorial integrity, and confront the ongoing coup by the Houthi terrorist militia since 2014.
The decision stipulated the following: the cancellation of the Joint Defense Agreement with the United Arab Emirates; the obligation for all Emirati forces and personnel to withdraw from all Yemeni territory within 24 hours; and instructions for the “National Shield” forces to move in and take control of all military camps in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.
This decision came hours after the leadership of the Coalition’s Joint Forces in Yemen announced that it had carried out a limited airstrike targeting external military support originating from the UAE at Mukalla Port in eastern Yemen.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the Coalition as saying that two vessels were detected arriving from the UAE’s Fujairah Port to Mukalla Port on Saturday and Sunday without official permits. The Coalition added that the vessels had disabled their tracking systems and unloaded weapons shipments to support STC forces, a move it said contributes to fueling the conflict.
