Two Gulf powers bombing each other's proxies in the south
In the opening days of 2026, the United Arab Emirates quietly completed the withdrawal of all its forces from Yemen, closing a chapter of military engagement that had quietly transformed into something its architects never publicly acknowledged — a war within a war. What began as a Gulf coalition united against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has fractured along the fault lines of competing imperial ambitions, with Saudi Arabia now striking the very separatist forces the UAE spent years cultivating. Yemen, the Arab world's most burdened nation, finds itself not at the end of a conflict but at the threshold of a new and more complicated one.
- The UAE's formal troop withdrawal, framed as mission accomplished, is in truth a strategic retreat from a partnership that had already collapsed into open proxy warfare with Saudi Arabia.
- The Southern Transitional Council — armed, trained, and politically sustained by Abu Dhabi — declared a constitution for an independent southern Yemen, seizing the Presidential Palace in Aden and forcing the recognized government to flee.
- Saudi warplanes struck UAE-backed separatist positions in Hadramout province, even targeting a shipment of Emirati weapons — a stunning escalation between nations that still nominally share a coalition banner.
- The fracture exposes irreconcilable visions: the UAE betting on a partitioned south it can control, Saudi Arabia insisting on a unified Yemen under its influence — two futures that cannot coexist.
- For Yemen's civilians, already ground down by a decade of war, displacement, and hunger, the collapse of the coalition does not promise relief — it promises a new layer of violence over an unhealed wound.
The United Arab Emirates announced early Saturday that it had withdrawn every soldier from Yemen, formally ending a military presence that had grown impossible to sustain as its relationship with Saudi Arabia — its supposed partner in a decade-long war — deteriorated into open confrontation. The UAE Defence Ministry described the move as the completion of counterterrorism operations, offering no figures on troops or equipment, though military cargo flights had been departing Yemeni airspace for days.
The withdrawal did not occur in a vacuum. Just before it, the Southern Transitional Council — a separatist movement long backed by the UAE — declared a constitution for an independent southern Yemen, having already seized two southern provinces and taken control of the Presidential Palace in Aden, sending members of the internationally recognized government fleeing to Riyadh. Whether the declaration was a genuine bid for statehood or a political maneuver remained debated, but its intent was unmistakable.
Saudi Arabia answered with airstrikes. Warplanes hit STC camps in Hadramout province, and Saudi-backed fighters moved to retake seized facilities. Saudi forces had even struck what officials described as a shipment of Emirati weapons bound for the separatists. The coalition that had nominally united both Gulf powers against the Iranian-backed Houthis in the north was now, in the south, bombing each other's proxies.
The deeper reality the fracture exposed was that the UAE and Saudi Arabia had never truly shared a vision for Yemen's future. The UAE had built the STC as a vehicle for southern influence; Saudi Arabia sought a unified Yemen it could steer. As those incompatible ambitions collided, the coalition unraveled.
For Yemen itself — the Arab world's poorest country, hollowed by a decade of civil war, mass displacement, endemic disease, and hunger — the UAE's departure signals not de-escalation but recalibration. Two powerful neighbors have stopped pretending to fight the same war. What follows remains uncertain, but the direction is not.
The United Arab Emirates announced early Saturday that it had pulled every soldier out of Yemen, marking the formal end of a military presence that had become increasingly untenable as tensions with Saudi Arabia—its supposed partner in a decade-long regional war—spiraled into open confrontation. The UAE Defence Ministry framed the withdrawal as the completion of counterterrorism operations, offering no specifics about troop numbers or equipment being removed, though military cargo flights had been moving in and out of Yemeni airspace for days.
The timing was not coincidental. Days earlier, the Southern Transitional Council—a separatist movement the UAE had long backed—announced a constitution for an independent southern Yemen and demanded that other factions accept the declaration. The STC had already seized two southern provinces from Saudi-backed forces and taken control of the Presidential Palace in Aden, the region's largest city, forcing members of the internationally recognized government to flee to Riyadh. Whether the constitutional announcement amounted to a genuine declaration of independence or remained largely symbolic remained unclear, but the message was unmistakable: the STC was moving to establish a separate state in Yemen's south.
Saudi Arabia responded with force. On Friday, Saudi warplanes struck STC camps and military positions in Hadramout province as Saudi-backed fighters attempted to retake the facilities. It was the latest in a series of direct Saudi interventions against the separatists—strikes that had intensified in recent weeks and had even targeted what Saudi officials said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for the STC. The irony was stark: two Gulf powers that had ostensibly united under a Saudi-led coalition to fight the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north were now bombing each other's proxies in the south.
For years, the coalition's stated purpose had been to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government, which the Houthis had driven from the north during the country's grinding civil war. But the fracturing alliance revealed a deeper reality: the UAE and Saudi Arabia had competing visions for Yemen's future, and those visions were incompatible. The UAE had invested heavily in the STC as a vehicle for controlling the south. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, wanted to preserve a unified Yemen under a government it could influence. As these interests collided, the coalition that had held together—however tenuously—began to unravel.
The consequences extended far beyond the two Gulf powers. Yemen, already the Arab world's poorest country, had been hollowed out by a decade of civil war. Civilians had been displaced by the hundreds of thousands. Infrastructure lay in ruins. Disease and hunger were endemic. Now, with the coalition fracturing and its two most powerful members moving from proxy conflict toward direct military confrontation, the risk of further destabilization loomed large. The withdrawal of UAE troops did not signal a de-escalation so much as a recalibration—a recognition that the two nations could no longer pretend to be fighting the same war. What came next remained uncertain, but the trajectory was clear: Yemen's agony was far from over.
Citações Notáveis
The move follows the implementation of a previously announced decision to conclude the remaining missions of counterterrorism units.— UAE Defence Ministry
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did the UAE decide to leave now, after being so invested in Yemen for so long?
Because staying meant direct conflict with Saudi Arabia. The STC—their proxy—had moved too aggressively, seizing territory and declaring independence. Saudi Arabia couldn't tolerate that, so it started bombing UAE-backed positions. The UAE had to choose between doubling down on a fight with its supposed ally or getting out.
But didn't they know this would happen? The STC didn't just wake up one day and decide to declare independence.
True. The UAE built the STC into what it is. But there's a difference between having a useful proxy and having one that forces you into open war with another major power. At some point, the cost becomes too high.
So this is really about two different visions for Yemen's future?
Exactly. The UAE wanted a strong, independent south it could influence. Saudi Arabia wanted a unified Yemen it could control. Those goals were always going to collide. The coalition against the Houthis was always a marriage of convenience.
What happens to Yemen now?
It gets worse. You have the Houthis in the north, the STC in the south, Saudi-backed forces scattered throughout, and now the two Gulf powers openly at odds. The country was already fractured. This just makes the fractures deeper.