Saudi Arabia has backed a demand from Yemen's presidential council for the United Arab Emirates to withdraw within 24 hours, after a Saudi-led coalition bombed what it said was a weapons shipment for UAE-backed separatists at the port of Mukalla.
The Saudi foreign ministry accused the UAE of "pressuring" the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks independence for southern Yemen, to launch recent offensives in the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and al-Mahra.
The kingdom would take measures to confront what it considered such "highly dangerous" actions, it warned.
The UAE's foreign ministry denied that the shipment contained weapons and expressed "deep regret" at the Saudi statement.
It strongly condemned "the allegations that it exerted pressure on, or directed, any Yemeni party to carry out military operations that would undermine the security of the sisterly kingdom of Saudi Arabia or target its borders".
