UAE to Rejoin Yemen Fight as Saudi Offers Air Cover
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to re-enter the war in Yemen by resuming payments to some government forces fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in the south, according to sources in Yemen. Under the new cooperation agreement, Saudi Arabia would provide air cover for the anti-Houthi force. The Guardian
The arrangement would restore a supply line cut in January, when the UAE ended operations inside Yemen. The southern units at issue, mainly in the Giant Brigades, were previously trained and funded by the UAE.
The UAE had joined the 2015 Gulf coalition aimed at dislodging the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia later pushed the UAE out of Yemen in late 2025. Reuters
The deal comes as Yemen's UN-recognised government, based in Aden, presses a counteroffensive declared last week to drive Houthi forces from Sanaa. That effort has met with limited success around Majzar near Marib and at the Bab al-Mandab strait.
It remains unclear how far southern separatists will join that push. The Southern Transition Council, which seeks an independent south, has not yet agreed for its troops to fight outside the borders of the old Southern Yemen. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has responded to a separatist demand this week for a referendum on secession to restore the borders in place when Yemen was two states from 1967 to 1990.
Tensions between the former partners run deep. Southern Transition Council leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled to Abu Dhabi in January after a failed attempt by the council to take control across the south. The Saudis bombed UAE arms shipments for the council's forces in response, and the Saudi-backed government said it would seek to try al-Zubaidi for treason.
Houthi pressure has intensified in recent days. On Friday, two missiles fired by the Houthis struck the airport in Aden while a passenger plane was preparing to take off, with no casualties reported. A day earlier, at least five people were killed and 16 injured in a Houthi attack on a presidential palace in Aden.
Earlier, a Houthi missile strike hit Riyadh's international airport, killing 13 people and wounding hundreds. The Guardian The Houthis promised to keep hitting Saudi airports and oil facilities. Reuters
Egypt and Britain have signalled support for Saudi Arabia as discussions continue over further military aid. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he was convening an emergency session of parliament to grant the military powers to take action in defence of Saudi Arabia, with no offensive action. The UK has sent an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft amid continuing discussions about a Saudi request for further military aid.
