Iran Emirates complete withdrawal of their troops from Yemen
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has completed the withdrawal of its soldiers from the civil war country of Yemen. The Ministry of Defense announced on Platform X that all units of the armed forces had been repatriated, as reported by several media outlets in the country.
03.01.2026, 07:20
SDA
The civil war in Yemen, which has been going on since 2014 and in which countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the UAE, want to assert their interests, has flared up again in recent days.
The UAE, which supports the separatists of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has actually been allied with Saudi Arabia for years in the fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Huthi control large parts of the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The official government in the civil war country, which in turn is supported by Saudi Arabia, is very weak.
Recently, the UAE has increasingly pursued its own interests in Yemen. In recent weeks, the separatists they support have taken over large areas that also border Saudi Arabia, which has put Riyadh under pressure.
On Tuesday, the actual allies clashed dangerously when a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia bombed the port of the Yemeni city of Mukalla and accused the Emirates of supplying weapons and vehicles to the separatists there, which Abu Dhabi rejected. At the same time, the UAE announced the withdrawal of its remaining units. It initially remained unclear how many soldiers were involved.
Referendum planned
On Friday, the STC separatists declared their intention to hold a referendum on the "self-determination of the south". The vote would give the inhabitants of the south the right to decide on their political future. The separatists have long been striving to separate southern and eastern areas from the north of the country.
Yemen was already divided from 1967 until reunification in 1990. An independent South Yemen would probably further intensify the regional competition between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, for example over strategic ports, energy exports and trade routes.
