Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
02-01-2026
DUBAI: The UAE says it rejects accusations of support for southern separatists (STC) and that it is committed to Saudi security, but that it will withdraw its “counterterrorism” units in Yemen.
This comes after Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, cancelled a joint defence deal with the UAE, calling for its forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia, whose coalition carried out strikes on the southern Maukalla port on what it said were UAE weapons shipments to the STC, backs the 24-hour deadline for UAE troop withdrawal. Yemen’s Presidential Council also declared a state of emergency and imposed a 24-hour blockade on all air, land and sea crossings into Yemen.
Southern Transitional Council representative Nabeel Bin-Lasem has accused Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), of “manufacturing political vacuums in the south that [will] have political ramifications”.
“Rashad’s statements today are a declaration of war against the south, the same south that defeated the Houthis, that has countered terrorism, smuggling operations and has proven its effectiveness in the fight against terrorism in front of the whole world,” Bin-Lasem told media from Abu Dhabi.
Earlier, al-Alimi announced the decision to cancel the joint defence deal with the UAE, in a move that was slammed by the STC and within the PLC.
“As southerners, as the STC and the Southern Armed Forces, we are on our land, we will protect our people, we will protect our achievements”, he added.
Bin-Lasem explained that attempts to “delegitimize” the STC were pushing them to “assess the options to take into consideration the security and safety of our people.”
“This is of paramount importance,” he added.
Separatists have pledged to hold and reinforce their territory, dismissing calls from the Saudi-led coalition to withdraw, hours after strikes targeted an alleged weapons shipment in a port under their control, according to the agency.
“There is no thinking about withdrawal. It is unreasonable for the landowner to be asked to leave his own land. The situation requires staying and reinforcing,” Anwar al-Tamimi, the spokesman for the separatist Southern Transitional Council, was quoted as saying by media.
Saudi Arabia’s air strikes posed a “grave risk and a potential for further escalation” in Yemen, Nabeel bin Lasem, a Southern Transitional Council representative, told media from Abu Dhabi.
“The collective focus should be on the Houthis, the strategic aim should be focused on the Houthis, (and) counter the Houthis. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that Saudi Arabia is attacking the south, one of the key allies who have proven their effectiveness in countering the Houthis and also countering terrorist groups,” bin Lasem said. The representative explained that the current issue was that Saudi Arabia was imposing an air, naval and sea blockade, leaving a small window for possible dialogue to de-escalate the situation.
“Rashad (al-Alimi) today declaring the state of emergency and asking for the UAE to be removed from Yemen or the coalition, it was done outside of this collective decision-making framework,” he said.
“So his decision (is) an abuse of power, he’s centralizing power within his hands at the expense of the established collective decision-making framework,” he added.
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert and founder of the Basha Report, a risk advisory firm, says he expects “a calibrated escalation” from both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the coming days. (Int’l News Desk)
