Saudi-led coalition says it targeted weapons arriving from UAE at Yemen’s Mukalla port

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday that it carried out a “limited military operation” targeting “weapons and combat vehicles” arriving from the United Arab Emirates at the port of Mukalla in Yemen’s Hadramout province, which was recently taken over by the separatist Southern Transitional Council.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the coalition’s official spokesperson, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, as saying that the operation was carried out by the coalition forces at the request of the head of Yemen’s legitimate Presidential Leadership Council to take all necessary military measures to protect civilians in Hadramout and Al-Mahra.

The spokesperson said coalition air forces carried out the limited operation earlier on Tuesday, targeting weapons and combat vehicles that had been unloaded from two ships at Mukalla port.

Al-Maliki added that the two ships had travelled from Fujairah port to Mukalla without obtaining official permits.

The operation came amid tensions in Hadramout following the recent takeover of the area by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.