Report: UAE secretly aided Ansarallah against Saudi-backed forces

According to the sources, the assistance was limited to targets inside Yemen and did not include help with intelligence or targeting inside Saudi Arabia. UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba did not respond to a request for comment; the White House and a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition also did not respond. Ansarallah senior official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti denied that the UAE had provided any support, telling Drop Site that Abu Dhabi remained committed to neutrality. Amr al-Beidh, special representative of the Southern Transitional Council president, denied that the STC had channels of communication with Ansarallah and said its forces would not take part in military operations in the north but would defend the south against any Ansarallah advance. The report comes after Ansarallah's offensive on the Red Sea coast left it in control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key shipping lane and an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has stepped up air strikes on Sana'a and other Ansarallah-held areas, and more than 250,000 people have been displaced since August 1, according to the International Organization for Migration.