Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged Emirati-backed separatists in southern Yemen to withdraw from Hadramout and Mahra governorates, warning that their presence threatens the stability of the fragile coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the north.

The Southern Transitional Council, long supported by the UAE, moved into the two governorates earlier this month. Saudi authorities called for the council’s forces to return to previous positions and hand over camps to the National Shield Forces, aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

The Saudi statement criticized the separatists’ actions as an “unjustified escalation” harming both the southern cause and coalition efforts. Local Hadramout officials backed the call for withdrawal. Demonstrators in Aden waved the flag of the former South Yemen, reflecting ongoing secessionist sentiments.

The move strains Saudi-UAE relations, which, despite shared OPEC membership, have competed for regional influence. Yemen’s civil war, ongoing since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, has caused over 150,000 deaths and a humanitarian crisis.

The Houthis have also disrupted Red Sea shipping amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. U.S. forces previously targeted Houthi leaders, including top missile and drone commander Maj. Gen. Zakaria Hajar. Escalation in southern Yemen risks further instability and could draw renewed international intervention.