Yemen's southern separatists welcomed on Saturday a call for dialogue by Saudi Arabia to end a recent military escalation, a potential sign that an unusually public confrontation between the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates may be easing.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of separatist forces from the two governorates as part of de-escalation efforts.

At the start of the war, the Iran-backed rebel Houthi movement took control of most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, from the government. The conflict escalated in 2015, when a coalition of Arab states including Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a military campaign to restore the government's rule.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government on Sunday accused UAE-backed southern separatists of cutting off access to the port city of Aden and warned it would take “all necessary measures” after regaining territory from them in the east a day earlier.

The Saudi-backed government in Yemen said it would send forces to reclaim territory from a group that the United Arab Emirates supports.

The confrontation threatened to open a new front in Yemen’s decadelong war, with forces allied against the Iran-backed Houthis possibly turning their sights on each other in the Arab world’s poorest nation,

Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen's port city of Mukalla, targeting a shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates for separatist forces. The UAE later said it would withdraw its forces from Yemen.

The announcement by the UAE-backed separatist group follows major escalations with Saudi Arabia and the internationally-recognized government.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates burst into the open this week with an unusually direct confrontation that has global implications.