UAE To Withdraw Troops From Yemen After Clash With Saudi Arabia

The United Arab Emirates said it will withdraw forces from Yemen following a flare up in tensions with Gulf ally Saudi Arabia over military operations in the conflict-hit country.

“In light of recent developments and their potential implications for the safety and effectiveness of counterterrorism missions,” the UAE will pull out remaining personnel “of its own volition,” the ministry of defense said in a statement on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi had earlier denied allegations by Riyadh that it’s been directing a separatist group in the south of Yemen in a way that threatened the kingdom’s border, a dispute that’s brought a sometimes fractious relationship between the two oil-rich neighbors into the open. Saudi Arabia demanded the UAE withdraw troops from Yemen and halt support for armed groups in the country, where the pair support rival factions.

The exchange followed airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni port of Mukalla, targeting what it called a weapons shipment from the UAE port of Fujairah that was to support the Abu Dhabi-backed Southern Transitional Council, or STC, which seeks to establish sovereignty in Yemen’s south.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country’s priorities in Yemen are “supporting the restoration of legitimacy and combating terrorism, while fully respecting the sovereignty of the Republic of Yemen.” It said the shipment to Mukalla contained vehicles for use by UAE forces.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE back rival political groups in Yemen, which sits at the crossroads of vital shipping lanes and on the edge of a major energy-exporting region. Deepening rifts between the pair have stalled peace efforts in the country, which has been mired in conflict since Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital Sana’a in 2014.

Riyadh supports the internationally-recognized government, while the UAE backs the STC. The Houthis retain control of about one-third of the country’s territory, and waged an intermittent bombing campaign on Red Sea shipping following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE were part of a coalition set up in 2015 to fight the Houthis, resulting in a long war that claimed almost 400,000 lives. The UAE gradually reduced its participation while the Houthis grew stronger, and a tentative ceasefire was agreed to in 2022.

Tensions ran high this month after the STC seized control of two provinces including Hadramout, Yemen’s largest province near the border with Saudi Arabia. The group said it sought to cut smuggling routes used by the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both power players vying for regional influence — have mostly been aligned on Middle East foreign policy including in Syria and Gaza. Both have embraced Syria’s new President Ahmed Al Sharaa and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state as a solution to conflict with the Israelis.

But the pair are also competitors: They are key members of the OPEC+ alliance and have in the past disagreed over the UAE’s oil output quota, while competing for foreign investment in the push to diversify their economies. US President Donald Trump has courted both, visiting Abu Dhabi and Riyadh earlier this year to secure billions of dollars of investment pledges.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington is concerned by recent events and urged restraint and diplomacy.

In its statement, Saudi Arabia said it hopes the UAE “will take the necessary steps to preserve bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries, which the Kingdom is keen on strengthening.”