SANAA, Yemen

The Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance in Yemen on Tuesday backed a deadline by the country’s presidential council for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to withdraw forces and held the Southern Transitional Council (STC) responsible for escalation in the country.

Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi cancelled a joint defense pact with the UAE early Tuesday and gave a 24-hour deadline for UAE forces to withdraw. He also declared a state of emergency for a 90-day period, along with a 72-hour air and land ban on all ports and border crossings.

“We declare our full support for the decisions and directives by the leadership council,” the alliance said in a statement.

The decisions “are a clear emphasis on protecting civilians, preserving the unity of military and security decision-making, and rejecting any armed movements outside the framework of the state,” it added.

It hailed what it described as “the responsible and clear position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which supports the legitimacy of the Yemeni state and rejects any escalatory steps that threaten the security of Yemen and the region.”

The alliance, which calls for self-rule in Hadhramaut, held the STC and its backers “fully responsible for any escalation or consequences that may affect civilians in those areas or threaten social peace and the Hadhrami social fabric.”

It renewed its call for “the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all STC-affiliated armed formations from Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra.”

The situation has escalated in southern Yemen early this month after the STC took control of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces after clashes with government forces.

The UAE early Tuesday announced an end to its military presence in Yemen, shortly after Saudi Arabia expressed its disappointment over Abu Dhabi’s action in the country, calling it “a threat to the national security” and “a red line.”

It came after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen launched a "limited" airstrike targeting two ships linked to the UAE at the Mukalla port in Yemen.

The STC repeatedly claims that successive governments have politically and economically marginalized southern regions and calls for their separation from the north — claims rejected by the Yemeni authorities, as they insist on preserving the country’s territorial unity.