The United Arab Emirates announced the withdrawal of all its forces from Yemen on Tuesday after a Saudi ultimatum.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE escalated drastically after Saudi warplanes bombed Emirati military equipment in the port city of Mukalla in Yemen, then issued an ultimatum demanding Abu Dhabi immediately withdraw all of its forces from Yemen and cease its support of all factions in the country within 24 hours. Abu Dhabi complied with part of the ultimatum on Tuesday, announcing that it would withdraw all of its remaining forces in the country, though it attempted to portray the decision as made on its own accord.
A statement from the UAE’s Ministry of Defense noted that the main deployment of UAE troops in Yemen concluded in 2019, “after completing the assigned missions within the agreed official frameworks. The remaining presence was limited to specialised personnel as part of counterterrorism efforts, in coordination with relevant international partners.”
“In light of recent developments and their potential implications for the safety and effectiveness of counterterrorism missions, the Ministry of Defence announces the termination of the remaining counterterrorism personnel in Yemen of its own volition, in a manner that ensures the safety of its personnel and in coordination with the concerned partners,” the statement reads.
The statement made no mention of the Saudi ultimatum.
An earlier statement from the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its position in Yemen and ignored the Saudi ultimatum. Abu Dhabi voiced its “regret” over Riyadh’s statement of condemnation, disputing the basis for the Saudi airstrikes by claiming that the armored vehicles being offloaded in Mukalla were only being used by its own forces. It denied the presence of any weapons in the shipment.
While not directly responding to the ultimatum, the UAE implicitly rejected it, saying it was in Yemen upon the invitation of the legitimate Yemeni government and was dedicated to fighting terrorist groups such as “the Houthis, Al-Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Whether the UAE’s official withdrawal of its forces from Yemen will placate Riyadh remains to be seen, as its true power lies with the Southern Transition Council, secessionist forces that now occupy half of Yemen in opposition to the internationally recognized government. The STC is heavily backed financially and with military equipment from the UAE, representing one of the small Arab country’s most lucrative investments, alongside the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
Riyadh has taken a stern tone after weeks of tension, warning that it would take whatever measures it feels are necessary if the UAE did not abide by its ultimatum.
“The steps taken by the UAE are considered highly dangerous,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned. “The Kingdom stresses that any threat to its national security is a red line, and the Kingdom will not hesitate to take all necessary steps and measures to confront and neutralize any such threat.”
The crisis marks the nadir of relations between the decadeslong allies, who have increasingly come to see each other as rivals amid a changing global order.
After years of being part of an uncomfortable national unity government, the separatist UAE-backed STC launched a sudden offensive on Dec. 2, sweeping aside forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council. The PLC’s troops put up so little a fight that many spectators assumed a prior deal had been reached, the Washington Institute reported, but it became clear after the dust settled that no such deal had been made.
At the offensive’s conclusion, STC forces had seized the regions of Hadramawt and al Mahra, the former bordering Saudi Arabia and the latter bordering Oman. Together, the two provinces constitute roughly half of Yemen’s land mass, though only around 5% of its population. The STC is now in control of over half of Yemen’s land mass and about a third of its population, marking the most sudden territorial shift of the entire 11 1/2-year civil war.
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Aside from territorial concerns, the conquered territories are also rich in oil — the STC now has possession of nearly 80% of Yemen’s oil reserves.
Riyadh believes Abu Dhabi ordered the STC to invade Hadramawt and al Mahra in direct response to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s visit to Washington last month, according to a report from the Economist. The Saudis believe this order was over the belief that Salman had tried to push Washington to exert pressure against the Emiratis over their support for the RSF in Sudan, possibly including sanctions.
