The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said on Tuesday it has voluntarily ended the mission of its counterterrorism units in Yemen, the only remaining forces it has in the country after ending its military presence in 2019.
It said the decision came after a comprehensive assessment following recent developments, state news agency WAM reported, citing a statement from the ministry.
The move comes after a Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla in what Riyadh said was an attack on a UAE-linked weapons shipment.
Earlier, the UAE said it was disappointed by Saudi Arabia's backing for a call for UAE forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours, after a Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla.
The attack on what Riyadh said was a UAE-linked weapons shipment marked the most significant escalation between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to date in a widening rift between the two Gulf powers.
Once the twin pillars of regional security, the two Gulf heavyweights have seen their interests diverge on everything from oil quotas to geopolitical influence.
Declaring its national security a red line, Saudi Arabia alleged the UAE had pressured Yemen's southern separatists to conduct military operations that had reached the kingdom's borders.
Riyadh's strongest language yet against the UAE
It was Riyadh's strongest language yet against the UAE in the falling-out between the neighbours, who once cooperated in a coalition against Yemen’s Iran‑aligned Houthis but whose interests in Yemen have steadily grown apart in recent years.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday its national security was a red line, hours after an airstrike on Yemen's southern port of Mukalla by a Saudi-led coalition, and gave UAE forces 24 hours to leave, in Riyadh's strongest language against Abu Dhabi yet.
As tension between the two Gulf oil powers reaches a boiling point, the coalition struck what it described as foreign military support to UAE-backed southern separatists, while the head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council set the deadline.
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government coalition conducted a “limited” air strike on two ships in the Yemeni port city of Mukalla early Tuesday morning, Saudi state-owned outlet Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
In Washington, the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the Saudi and UAE foreign ministers about tensions in Yemen and other issues affecting security in the Middle East.
Several Gulf countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain, said they would support any efforts to bolster dialog and reach a political solution. Qatar said the security of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries "constitutes an inseparable part" of its own security.