The UAE has announced that it will withdraw its military personnel from Yemen, hours after Saudi Arabia struck its Yemeni allies and made an extremely rare public condemnation of Abu Dhabi's conduct in the country. The Emirati defense ministry said in a statement that "in light of recent developments" it was announcing "the termination of the remaining counterterrorism personnel in Yemen of its own volition".
The ministry said Abu Dhabi had participated in an Arab coalition supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemen since 2015. It stated that while UAE forces had mostly concluded their role in 2019, specialized teams remained to work on "counterterrorism efforts" alongside international partners.
It added: "In light of the recent developments and the potential repercussions that may affect the safety and effectiveness of counterterrorism missions, the Ministry of Defense announces the termination of the remaining counterterrorism teams in Yemen at its own volition, in a manner that ensures the safety of its personnel, and in coordination with the relevant partners."
Mohammed al-Basha, an expert on Yemen and founder of the Basha Report, a US-based risk advisory, said that most of the UAE's military forces and hardware was withdrawn from Yemen six years ago.
"This withdrawal included main battle tanks, artillery, Patriot air defense systems, helicopters, and Apache gunships," he told Middle East Eye. "Today, the UAE maintains only a limited presence made up of rotating advisory, intelligence, counterterrorism and reconnaissance personnel. This is not a large-scale combat force and does not conduct major offensive operations."
On Tuesday morning, Saudi Arabia struck targets belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the port of Mukalla. The STC is a UAE-backed group that seeks an independent south Yemen.
Riyadh said it targeted weapons and vehicles that had arrived in Mukalla on ships originating in Fujairah, a port city on the east coast of the UAE. It added that the weapons “constituted an imminent threat”, and therefore Saudi-led forces conducted “limited air strikes” targeting shipments offloaded from two vessels.
Mohamed Alsahimi, an STC representative, told MEE that the group disagreed with this assessment, and said the attack targeted "civilian infrastructure".
Saudis claim threat to national security
A few hours after the strike, Riyadh published a strong statement criticizing the UAE’s role in Yemen. The Saudi foreign ministry said it was disappointed by actions taken by the UAE "pressuring" the STC to conduct military operations on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, in the Yemeni regions of Hadhramaut and al-Mahrah.
It said such actions were a threat to Saudi Arabia's national security, and the security and stability of Yemen and the wider region. "The kingdom stresses that any threat to its national security is a red line," it said. "[We] will not hesitate to take all necessary steps and measures to confront and neutralise any such threat."
BIG: Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen’s Mukalla Port, targeting ships from the UAE carrying armored vehicles and weapons for UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 30, 2025
Tensions between Saudi-backed and UAE-backed forces have escalated sharply after pro-UAE forces… pic.twitter.com/ExPP78VVTz
It marked the strongest statement made by the kingdom since the STC seized control of swathes of territory in southern Yemen earlier this month.
The UAE has backed the STC since 2017, said Basha, "through diplomatic support, funding, military assistance, logistics, and training".
"This support has been comprehensive," the analyst added. "The UAE position, however, is that it does not control the STC’s political end goals." The UAE said it was "surprised" by the Saudi strike, and that it rejected Riyadh's account.
Abu Dhabi's foreign ministry said the strike was made without consulting other member states of the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the Yemeni war against the Houthis in 2015.
It said that the targeted shipment was coordinated with Saudi Arabia, and that it did not contain weapons, but rather vehicles intended for use by UAE forces in the country. The UAE claimed Saudi Arabia's statement contained "fundamental inaccuracies".
"The UAE categorically rejects any attempt to implicate it in the tensions between Yemeni parties and condemns the allegations of pressuring or directing any Yemeni party to carry out military operations," the Emirati foreign ministry said, before later announcing its withdrawal from Yemen.
Saudi Arabia officialy joins the "All my homies hate the UAE" club pic.twitter.com/5oodRCw8kp
— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) December 30, 2025
After the Yemeni war and the takeover of the capital, Sanaa, and other areas in the north by the Houthis in 2014, the Aden-based STC has emerged as a key player among anti-Houthi elements.
Southern Yemen has for years been overseen by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), an executive government body that includes the STC and initially had both Saudi and Emirati support. However, the body has long been riddled with internal disagreements and jostling.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the PLC, called for an immediate withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen, and cancelled a joint defence agreement with the UAE.
Alsahimi, the STC official, said the PLC had "no mandate" to make such an announcement, and that its chair made a "unilateral decision... without any consensus from the other PLC members".
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