DHAMAR, Yemen — Even as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called Sept. 8 for their proxy forces in Yemen to stop fighting each other, Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed forces were still exchanging airstrikes over the weekend.

Until recently, the two Gulf states were both backing the UN-recognized Yemeni government and were united against the Iran-affiliated Houthis. But the UAE forces in August began supporting the Southern Transitional Council separatist movement.

Meanwhile, the Houthis, in retaliation for deadly Saudi-supported airstrikes Sept. 1, said they launched a drone attack the night of Sept. 7 on the city of Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, however, said it downed the drone while it was still in Yemeni airspace, and on Sept. 9 reported it carried out another strike, this one on a Houthi site in Al Jawf province. 

The Houthis were still recovering from the Sept. 1 airstrikes on a Houthi-operated prison complex in Dhamar province, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia claimed the site was a weapons depot, but the Houthis said the three buildings in the complex housed 170 prisoners, including 90 prisoners of war who backed the Saudi side.