Yemen government says it retakes Mukalla from southern separatists
- SAUDI ARABIA BREAKING NEWS
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Aden, January 3, 2026 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government said on Saturday it had retaken control of Mukalla, the key eastern port and capital of Hadramout province, from UAE-backed southern separatists who seized it last month.
The crisis has widened tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and fractured the coalition of forces fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement, the report said.
Rapid government gains since Friday reversed many of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) advances last month and cast doubt on the viability of its stated intention to hold a referendum on independence within two years.
Saudi-backed forces had already taken control of key locations in Hadramout, a large province with stretches of desert along the Saudi border.
STC forces blocked roads leading to Aden from northern provinces, residents said, while the group appealed for regional and international leaders to intervene against what it described as a “Saudi-backed military escalation”.
In a statement, the STC said northern Islamist factions — an apparent reference to the Islah party, which is part of the internationally recognised government — had targeted civilians and vital infrastructure.
The UAE, described as the main STC supporter, urged restraint, saying it was “deeply concerned” about the escalation in Yemen.
Overnight, Presidential Council chief Rashad al-Alimi said he had asked Saudi Arabia to host a forum to resolve the southern issues, adding he hoped this would bring all southern factions together.
Aden airport, the main transport hub for areas of Yemen outside Houthi control, has been closed since Thursday after a dispute over new restrictions announced by the internationally recognised government on flights with the UAE.
The STC and Saudi Arabia have accused each other of responsibility for shutting off air traffic, and the STC said on Saturday that southern Yemen was being subjected to a land, sea and air blockade.
The crisis began early last month when the STC seized swathes of territory including Hadramout, establishing control over the territory of the former state of South Yemen that merged with the north in 1990.
The leadership of the internationally recognised government, which had been based in Aden and included several ministers from the STC, departed for Saudi Arabia, which regarded the southern move as a threat to its security.
Qatar said it welcomed efforts by Yemen’s internationally recognised government to address the southern issue.
How far differences between Saudi Arabia and the UAE spill into other issues could become clearer over the weekend as both countries join a scheduled OPEC meeting to determine the group’s oil output policy.
Early this week, Saudi Arabia bombed a base in Hadramout and asked remaining UAE forces in Yemen to depart, calling this a red line for its security, and the UAE complied.
The STC’s declaration on Friday that it wants a two-year transition period leading to a referendum on independence for a new South Arabian state was described as its clearest indication yet of its intention to secede.
