Saudi Arabia has stepped up airstrikes against separatist positions in Yemen’s strategic port city of Mukalla and surrounding areas, marking a significant escalation in the long-running and multifaceted conflict.

According to separatist sources and local media reports, warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition struck a military camp near Mukalla and other sites where forces loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council are deployed, as part of an offensive to reclaim territory and push back the separatist advance in eastern Hadramout province.

The intensified air campaign came after the Southern Transitional Council declared its intention to pursue a path toward independence and seized control of large swaths of southern Yemen, including key cities and infrastructure, late last year.

Saudi officials have framed the recent strikes as necessary to counter what they describe as destabilising actions by the separatists and to prevent further fragmentation of Yemen’s internationally recognised state.

The strikes reportedly targeted the Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla, a base held by STC-aligned forces, and were carried out amid clashes between Saudi-backed government troops and separatist fighters.

The port of Mukalla and nearby Seiyun have seen more than one hundred air raids in recent days, according to local accounts, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure.

Emirati-linked forces, who have historically supported the Southern Transitional Council, have been ordered to withdraw from Yemen by Riyadh, and the UAE has signalled its desire for de-escalation even as it denies allegations of arming separatist groups.

This dynamic has exposed deepening tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, longtime partners in the coalition against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

The escalation underscores the complexity of Yemen’s civil war, in which multiple factions backed by regional powers have vied for control amid a brutal decade-long humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia’s bombardment of Mukalla followed earlier strikes at the port, which Riyadh said targeted weapons and vehicles allegedly shipped from the UAE to aid separatist forces.

While the UAE has rejected claims that it supplied arms to the STC, it has acknowledged providing military vehicles for its own personnel, further complicating allied relations.

International reactions have included calls for restraint from global actors concerned that internal divisions within the anti-Houthi coalition could reignite broader conflict and deepen the suffering of Yemeni civilians.

Meanwhile, ground offensives by Saudi-aligned forces continue as part of efforts to restore control over territory captured by the Southern Transitional Council and to stabilise the volatile eastern regions of the country.