UAE backs Saudi push to defuse tensions in Yemen

DUBAI –

The United Arab Emirates on Friday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to support security and stability in Yemen, hailing Riyadh’s call for de-escalation after renewed tensions involving southern separatists raised fears of further fragmentation in the war-torn country.

“The UAE reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting all endeavours aimed at strengthening stability and development in Yemen,” the Emirati foreign ministry said in a statement, underscoring coordination between the two Gulf allies.

The comments came a day after Saudi Arabia urged Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) to halt its escalation and withdraw forces from the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, which the separatist group seized earlier this month.

Saudi Arabia said it remained hopeful the STC would end the escalation and pull back its forces in an “urgent and orderly manner”, warning that the unilateral moves risked harming the interests of the Yemeni people.

A joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation visited Aden earlier this month to discuss steps aimed at defusing tensions and restoring forces to their previous positions, according to Riyadh, which said the de-escalation efforts were ongoing.

The STC, which seeks autonomy or independence for southern Yemen, is part of Yemen’s internationally-recognised government, a fragile coalition united mainly by opposition to the Iran-backed Houthi movement that controls much of the country’s north.

The STC accused Riyadh on Friday of targeting positions held by its affiliated forces. The STC-aligned Aden Independent Channel said the Saudi air force struck locations belonging to the Hadrami Elite Forces in Wadi Nahb, while the STC told said that two strikes had been carried out. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the Saudi-led coalition did not respond to requests for comment.

The strikes came a day after clashes in the area between STC-linked forces and a tribal leader close to Saudi Arabia, further fuelling fears of escalation after years of relative calm within the government camp. A military official in Hadramout said that the tribal leader had later withdrawn from the area.

Recent STC advances have complicated efforts to preserve cohesion within the government camp, prompting warnings from the United Nations. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week that the developments risked “wider escalation and further fragmentation.”

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sana’a and forced the government to flee south, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in 2015. Although fighting has declined significantly since a UN-brokered truce in 2022, the country remains deeply divided along political and territorial lines.