Yemen

It all began more than a decade ago. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the pillars of a coalition created to fight the Houthis who had taken control in Yemen.

Over the years, that mission failed. Then the UAE set out to pursue its own long-term interests by supporting and arming a group called the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the south of Yemen.

But Riyadh stepped in to disrupt what it saw as a national security threat after the STC seized control of areas close to its borders.

The UAE was given 24 hours’ notice to withdraw – an ultimatum it agreed to.

So what does all this mean for the future of Yemen?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Abdul-aziz Al Ghashian – Senior non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum

Alkharder Sulaiman – Southern Transitional Council spokesman

Andreas Krieg – Associate professor at the School of Security Studies, King’s College London

Saudi Arabia’s strike on Mukalla port has triggered tensions with its partner in the Arab coalition in Yemen and its Gulf Arab neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.

The coalition spokesman, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, said two ships entered the port of Mukalla, carrying more than 80 vehicles and containers of weapons and ammunition destined for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), without informing Saudi Arabia or the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

There are serious differences between the two allies in Yemen, and now it is at its peak and perhaps a turning point that would impact Yemen.

The Yemeni government has lost control of events following a military escalation between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Hadramout governorate, where Mukalla lies, in December.

The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is divided into two factions, each loyal to one party in this conflict. The difference had been simmering for years away from the spotlight until it exploded publicly over the past few days.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are key members of the Arab military coalition in Yemen, formed to confront the Houthis, who took full control of the capital, Sanaa, by force in 2015 and later imposed their own government.

This conflict of interest between Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been escalating gradually since the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) formed in 2017 as a separatist political and military force seeking an independent state in the south – South Yemen – an independent state between 1967 and 1990.

Earlier in December, the STC forces crossed red lines by controlling all southern governorates, including Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates. That did not go down well in Saudi Arabia, which considered the move a threat to its national security.

Hadramout also represents economic depth for Yemen with its oil and gas resources and related infrastructure, and also has a vital border crossing with Saudi Arabia, making it part of the equation for border security and trade.

The latest public fallout between Saudi Arabia and the UAE will cast a dark shadow over the situation in Yemen politically, economically, and militarily. The Yemeni political circles were divided into two camps, with the government members each following one of the external parties to the conflict – Saudi and Emirati.

The clearest outcome of the differences would be seen in the eight-member PLC, an internationally recognised body, which is already divided into camps loyal to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

One camp is headed by Rashad al-Alimi, the PLC president, and includes Sultan al-Arada, Abdullah al-Alimi Bawazir, and Othman Hussein Mujalli. The second is led by the head of the STC force, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, and includes Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami (also known as Abu Zaraa), Tariq Mohammed Saleh, and Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani.

The leaders of both camps issued two different statements regarding the calls made by al-Alimi for the UAE to withdraw from Yemen following the Saudi strike on the ships carrying weapons to the STC. One was in favour of the UAE’s exit from Yemen, and the other was against — showing they are representing the interests of regional players and at the same time confirming that Yemen is a venue for a proxy war.

Within the Yemeni political landscape, the quick developments and successive events are pushing Yemen into a new phase of an internal war among political and military components that make up the legitimate government, with new internal fighting among many armed factions.

It is also taking the focus away from the Houthi rebellion in the north, which controlled Sanaa and the most populous provinces in Yemen.

The main goal for the legitimate Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab coalition was to confront the Houthis’ takeover. Now, the country is on the brink of collapse and a new phase of turmoil after more than a decade of armed conflict, which could help the Houthis to expand their influence beyond their current areas of control.

The latest event will weaken the Saudi-led coalition further and cast doubt over its cohesion and ability to achieve its declared joint goals for Yemen.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

In 2025, Israel carried out thousands of attacks in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with at least 10,600 attacks recorded across multiple countries including Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Yemen and Qatar.

The UAE says it’s withdrawing all ‘counterterrorism’ units from Yemen after a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on a port in southern Yemen. Riyadh has accused the Emiratis of shipping weapons and military vehicles to aid Yemen’s separatist movement, an accusation Abu Dhabi denies.

All UAE forces must leave Yemen within 24 hours, the presidential council says.

The Saudi-led coalition carried out a targeted strike at Yemen’s Mukalla port, accusing foreign-backed vessels of delivering weapons to southern separatists.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has carried out a “limited military operation” targeting what it described as foreign military support at Mukalla port, days after warning the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) group against taking military action in Hadramout province.

Coalition air forces carried out the military operation early on Tuesday, targeting unloaded weapons and vehicles, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said two ships entered Mukalla port on Saturday and Sunday without coalition authorisation, disabled their tracking systems, and unloaded large quantities of weapons and combat vehicles “to support” the STC.

The ‍Saudi-backed head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashad ⁠al Alimi, ​said on ‍Tuesday after the air strike that all forces of the United ‍Arab ⁠Emirates must leave Yemen within 24 hours.

“Given the danger and escalation posed by these weapons … the coalition air forces carried out a limited military operation this morning targeting weapons and combat vehicles that had been unloaded from the two ships at the port of al-Mukalla,” SPA reported.

Two sources told Reuters news agency that the strike specifically targeted the dock where the cargo had been unloaded. The coalition said there were no casualties or collateral damage and emphasised that the operation was conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The strike comes amid heightened tensions following an offensive earlier this month by the STC against Yemeni government troops backed by the coalition.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud posted on X that the STC troops should “peacefully hand over” two regional governorates to the government. Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for “restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to reaching a lasting solution”.

A divided Yemen

The STC was initially part of the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, but the group later pursued self-rule in southern Yemen. Since 2022, the STC, which has previously received assistance from the United Arab Emirates, has controlled southern territories outside Houthi areas under a Saudi-backed power-sharing arrangement.

In recent weeks, however, the STC has swept through swaths of the country, expelling other government forces and their allies.

Saudi defence minister urges Yemen’s STC to withdraw “peacefully” from seized provinces, Hadramout and al-Mahra.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says it will respond to any separatist military movements that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region, as Riyadh doubles down on calls for the group to “peacefully” withdraw from recently seized eastern provinces.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said on X on Saturday that “it’s time” for troops from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to “let reason prevail by withdrawing from the two provinces and doing so peacefully”.

Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said “any military movements that violate these [de-escalation] efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately in order to protect civilian lives and ensure the success of restoring calm,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Al-Maliki also accused the STC separatists of “serious and horrific human rights violations against civilians”, without providing evidence.

The statements came a day after the STC accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on separatist positions in Yemen’s Hadramout province, and after Washington called for restraint in the rapidly escalating conflict.

Earlier this month, forces aligned to the STC took over large chunks from the Saudi-backed government in the provinces of Hadramout and al-Mahra. The STC and the government have been allies for years in the fight against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

Abdullah al-Alimi, a member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, the governing body of the internationally recognised government, welcomed the Saudi defence minister’s remarks, considering them to “clearly reflect the kingdom’s steadfast stance and sincere concern for Yemen’s security and stability”, he said on X.

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, said after an emergency meeting late on Friday that STC movements posed “serious violations against civilians”.

The STC, which has previously received military and financial backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is seeking to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen. The group warned on Friday that they were undeterred after strikes it blamed on Saudi Arabia hit their positions.

Diplomacy, de-escalation?

In Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We urge restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to reaching a lasting solution.”

Azerbaijan, meanwhile, said it welcomed efforts led by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to de-escalate ongoing tensions in Yemen.

Following Friday’s raids, Yemen’s government urged the Saudi-led coalition to support its forces in Hadramout, after separatists seized most of the country’s largest province.

The government asked the coalition to “take all necessary military measures to protect innocent Yemeni civilians in Hadramout province and support the armed forces”, the official Yemeni news agency said.

A Yemeni military official said on Friday that about 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border but had not been given orders to advance on separatist-held territory. The areas where they were deployed are at the edges of territory seized in recent weeks by the STC.

Separatist advances have added pressure on ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, close allies who support rival groups within Yemen’s government.

On Friday, the UAE welcomed Saudi efforts to support security in Yemen, as the two Gulf allies sought to present a united front.

Yemen’s government is a patchwork of groups that includes the separatists, and is held together by shared opposition to the Houthis.

The Houthis pushed the government out of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, and secured control over most of the north.

Dec. 26 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia has reportedly fired on the eastern Hadramout province in Yemen.

The Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group in Yemen, claims that the Saudis fired warning airstrikes at its forces.

The STC seized two oil-rich provinces in December. The group is backed by the United Arab Emirates. It released a video showing the airstrikes that it said were close to its positions in Wadi Nahab in the Hadramaut province.

The strikes haven’t been independently verified.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday made a diplomatic appeal urging the STC to abandon Hadramaut and al-Mahra, which it recently captured . The strikes would be the first military action by Saudi Arabia since that plea.

“The kingdom remains hopeful that the public interest will prevail through ending the escalation by the Southern Transitional Council and the withdrawal of its forces from the two governorates in an urgent and orderly manner,” Saudi Arabia said in a statement on Thursday.

“The kingdom stresses the importance of cooperation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint and avoid any measures that could destabilize security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences,” the statement said.

On Thursday, there were large demonstrations in the port city of Aden calling for STC President Aidarous al-Zubaidi to declare independence from Yemen. The U.N. and several other gulf states back Yemen and want it to stay whole. The United States hasn’t taken a side.

The Houthis have controlled the northern areas of Yemen since 2015.

A spokesperson for Antonio Guterres calls for UN staffers’ immediate release, as 69 now detained in the country.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the detention of 10 more UN staff members by the Houthis in Yemen.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, confirmed on Friday that the previous day’s arrests had brought the total of detained local staffers to 69, calling for their immediate release.

“These detentions render the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas untenable. This directly affects millions of people in need and limits their access to life-saving assistance,” Dujarric said.

The Houthis, who control most of northwestern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have stepped up their arrests of UN staff since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, accusing them of spying for the United States and Israel.

The UN has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that its staff or operations in Yemen are involved in spying, a charge that carries the death penalty in the country.

On Thursday, the organisation confirmed that the detainees were all Yemeni nationals.

The latest arrests came days after Guterres discussed detained UN, diplomatic and NGO staff with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, which has served as a mediator in the conflict in Yemen.

Guterres also commented this week on the Houthis’ recent referral of three detained UN staffers to a criminal court, saying they had been charged in relation to “their performance of United Nations official duties” and calling for charges to be dropped.

Shift in balance of power

A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN.

Guterres said this week that 19.5 million people in the country – nearly two-thirds of the population – need humanitarian assistance.

The conflict has recently entered a new phase, as separatists with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) extended their presence in southeastern Yemen – marking one of the largest shifts in power since the war began.

They now claim to control areas including the eastern governorates of oil-rich Hadramout and al-Mahra and the port city of Aden.

The STC, which wants to establish an independent state in the south of Yemen, has fought in the past alongside the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government, which is based in Aden, against the Houthis.

However, the STC’s advance in the south brings it into direct confrontation with the government in Aden, known as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), which condemned the seizure of territory as “unilateral and a blatant violation”.

The STC’s leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has a seat on the PLC, officially as one of its vice chairmen.

But relations have often been shaky between the group and the internationally recognised government, which came under major pressure in areas under its control over power outages and a currency crisis this year.

The two entities have previously fought, most notably in 2018 and 2019, in Aden and its surrounding governorates.

This week, Guterres urged all parties to exercise “maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions, and resolve differences through dialogue”.