AMMAN — The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen on Tuesday said it conducted a “limited” airstrike targeting two ships that smuggled weapons and other military hardware into Mukalla in southern Yemen.

 

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Coalition Forces spokesman, Major General Turki Al Maliki, said that two ships coming from the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates entered the Port of Mukalla in Hadramaut without obtaining official permits from the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition.

 

“The crews of the two ships disabled the tracking systems of the two ships and unloaded a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles to support the Southern Transitional Council forces in the eastern governorates of Yemen (Hadramawt, Al-Mahra) with the aim of fueling the conflict. This is a clear violation of imposing a truce and reaching a peaceful solution, as well as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution No. (2216) of 2015 AD,” said the spokesman.

 

The coalition urged civilians and fishermen to evacuate the Port of Mukalla, signaling that a major military operation to force an STC withdrawal could be imminent.

 

Al Maliki said the Coalition Forces acted on a request by Rashad Al Alimi, the president of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, “to take all necessary military measures to protect civilians in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.”

 

Al Alimi, the president of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, warned last week that unilateral actions by the STC were pushing the country toward a dangerous tipping point.