Saudi Arabia Carries Out Airstrike on Yemen’s Mukalla Port

Saudi Arabia has carried out an airstrike on the port of the Yemeni coastal city of Mukalla, Saudi officials say, in response to the arrival of an arms shipment destined for a Yemeni separatist group on Tuesday.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an important statement expressing disappointment over the recent actions of the United Arab Emirates.

The statement said that Saudi Arabia is concerned that Emirati ships carrying weapons and armored vehicles were transferred from the port of Fujairah to the port of Mukalla without formal approval from the Saudi coalition’s joint command.

#Statement | Pursuant to the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 25/12/2025 corresponding to 5/7/1447 regarding the Kingdom’s concerted efforts, working with the brotherly United Arab Emirates, to end and contain the escalatory steps taken by the Southern… pic.twitter.com/lTyU0gLgpf

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) December 30, 2025

It should be noted that a statement issued by the Saudi-led coalition claimed that the ships targeted at the Yemeni port contained weapons that had been transported to Mukalla from the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah and were being unloaded in support of the Southern Transitional Council.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) was part of the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in 2015, but later launched a campaign for autonomy for southern Yemen. In recent days, South Yemeni flags have also been raised and pro-separatist slogans have been raised during protests.

The Saudi military coalition statement said that after arriving in Mukalla, these planes turned off their tracking systems and unloaded a large amount of weapons and military vehicles, which were considered an immediate threat to peace and stability. On this basis, the coalition air force carried out limited airstrikes targeting these weapons and military vehicles.

Saudi officials say the attack was carried out at night to avoid any casualties or collateral damage. No casualties were reported in the attack, according to state media.

The United Arab Emirates did not immediately respond to the attack, but a satellite channel run by Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) confirmed the attack, but did not provide further details.

According to the British news agency The Guardian, one of the targeted ships was a roll-on-roll-off ship, said to be the Greenland, registered under the flag of St. Kitts. According to tracking data, the ship was in Fujairah on December 22 and arrived in Al Mukalla on Sunday.

Videos appearing on social media show what are allegedly new armored military vehicles in Al Mukalla, which are said to have arrived on the same plane.

Al-Mukalla is located in Yemen’s Hadramaut province, which the Southern Transitional Council has recently taken control of.