Saudi planes bomb Emirati weapon shipment for Yemen separatists

已複製連結

United Arab Emirates said it would withdraw its troops from Yemen, after its weapon shipment for a separatist force, the Southern Transitional Council, was bombed by UAE's close ally, Saudi Arabia. 

The confrontation threatened to open a new front in Yemen's decade-long war, with forces allied against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels possibly turning their sights on each other. 

It also further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and UAE, as they compete over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Tuesday's airstrikes appeared to be their most serious confrontation in decades. 

The Emirati Defense Ministry later said it would withdraw its remaining troops from Yemen over "recent developments and their potential repercussions on the safety and effectiveness of counter-terrorism operations." The UAE broadly withdrew its forces from Yemen years earlier. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his Emirati and Saudi counterparts over the crisis.