By Yomna Ehab and Nayera Abdallah

Dec 30 (Reuters) - The head of Yemen's presidential council called on Tuesday for all United Arab Emirates forces to leave the country within 24 hours, shortly after an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition at the southern port of Mukalla.

The coalition said the strike targeted foreign military support for the UAE-backed southern separatists, whose offensive this month pitted the Southern Transitional Council (STC) against Saudi-supported Yemeni government troops, bringing the two Gulf allies closer than ever to an all-out conflict.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since 2014.

The coalition said the limited air strike followed the weekend arrival of two ships from the UAE port of Fujairah on Saturday and Sunday without its authorisation.

After arriving in Mukalla, the........

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