UAE Says It Has Pulled All Troops From Yemen as Crisis Escalates

The move was made after Yemen’s separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent southern nation.

A convoy of armored vehicles makes its way along a street in the port city of Mukalla, Yemen, on Jan. 1, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced early on Jan. 3 that it had fully withdrawn its troops from Yemen, fulfilling a pledge made amid escalating tensions.

“The return of the UAE forces follows the implementation of a previously announced decision to conclude the remaining missions of counter-terrorism units,” the UAE Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted to X by local media outlets. “The process has been conducted in a manner that ensured the safety of all personnel and carried out in coordination with all relevant partners.”

The announcement was made after Yemen’s separatist movement, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), announced that it had written a constitution for an independent southern nation on Jan. 2, heightening tensions that have placed Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE at odds with each other in the country’s continuing civil war.

The announcement comes after the STC’s seizure in December of two southern provinces from Saudi-backed forces, which involved taking control of the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen, a port city in the south. Members of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, previously based in Aden, fled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.

The head of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, released a video statement on Jan. 2 stating that the constitution his group created would remain in effect for two years, whereafter a referendum would take place on “exercising the right to self-determination for the people of the South.”

During those two years, he said, the “relevant parties” in north and south Yemen should discuss “a path and mechanisms that guarantee the right of the people of the South.”

He said that if the other factions do not agree to his call or if they take military action, “all options remain open.”

The 30-article “constitution” proclaimed the establishment of “the State of South Arabia” across the same territory of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, the independent southern state that existed from 1967 to 1990.

Saudi Jets Strike

Saudi warplanes bombed camps and military positions held by the STC in Hadramout Province on Jan. 2 as Saudi-backed fighters tried to take over the facilities, a separatist official claimed. This represented the most recent Saudi intervention, following recent bombings of STC forces and an attack on what was portrayed as an Emirati weapons shipment for the separatists.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as Yemeni allies, once formed part of a Saudi-led coalition in 2015 to combat Iranian-backed rebels from the Houthi terrorist group in control of northern Yemen. The coalition’s goal was to restore the internationally recognized government overthrown by the Houthis.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry stated on Jan. 2 that the nation was acting “with restraint, coordination, and a deliberate commitment to de-escalation, guided by a foreign policy that consistently prioritizes regional stability over impulsive action.”

In Hadramout Province, Saudi-backed National Shield Forces moved on two STC camps, said Ahmed bin Breik, a senior STC official and former governor. Separatist forces did not withdraw, leading to Saudi airstrikes, he said.

Hadramout Province’s governor, Salem al-Khanbashi, appointed on Jan. 2 by the internationally recognized government to lead Saudi-led forces there, said the operation was “not a declaration of war and is not seeking an escalation.” He called it a “pre-emptive measure to remove weapons.”

The Saudi-led coalition demands that STC-tied Southern Shield forces withdraw from seized provinces, including Hadramout and Mahra, as part of de-escalation. The STC has not relinquished arms or camps.

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed al-Jaber posted on X that the kingdom had run out of options with the STC to prevent escalation and urged withdrawal from Hadramout and Mahra provinces because of “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi.” He highlighted the fact that the STC, despite a previous agreement, stopped a Saudi delegation’s jet from landing in Aden.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.