Yemen's Southern Transitional Council and its institutions will be dismantled after weeks of unrest in southern areas and a day after its leader fled to the United Arab Emirates.

The move comes as an escalation of a confrontation that has pitted Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against each other.

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.

Peace talks and diplomatic progress have raised hopes of an end to the war. But has there been any progress in addressing the country's devastating degree of hunger?

Nearly a decade of civil war has destroyed millions of Yemeni lives, but perhaps nowhere has it been felt more than in the neighborhoods in Taiz that are closest to the fighting.

While Abu Dhabi police did not immediately offer any suspects, Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates.