UAE agrees with Saudi Arabia to re-enter Yemen conflict amid Houthi gains

The UAE’s re-entry means it would resume payments to some southern government forces fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis. Saudi Arabia would support those forces with air cover. This matters because the two Gulf states had sharply disagreed over Yemen’s future, and the UAE had stopped its involvement in January.

The southern forces include the Giant Brigades, previously trained and funded by the UAE. They are considered among the most effective units in the divided anti-Houthi coalition. Saudi aircraft would add protection and firepower while these forces operate against advancing Houthi troops.

The agreement could strengthen the anti-Houthi campaign, but it does not resolve the dispute over southern independence. The Southern Transition Council has not agreed to fight beyond former Southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also face continuing Houthi missile and drone attacks, including strikes near Aden’s airport and presidential palace.

The article describes the Houthis as Iran-aligned forces fighting across Yemen. It does not provide a fuller account of their origins or political program. Their military gains matter because they have alarmed both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose governments oppose the expansion of Houthi control.

Houthi forces are determined to capture Taiz and Marib, described as the two remaining cities outside the boundaries of former Southern Yemen. They have also attacked targets in Saudi Arabia and fired missiles at Aden. One strike hit near an aircraft preparing to leave Aden airport.

Saudi Arabia is facing daily drone and missile attacks. Houthi strikes have immobilised Saudi airports and damaged parts of its energy infrastructure. The advance has pushed Saudi Arabia and the UAE toward renewed cooperation, even though their disagreements over Yemen’s future remain unresolved.

The humanitarian impact is severe, but the article gives only one firm scale figure. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since August, according to the United Nations. Displacement means people have been forced from their homes, adding pressure to already strained aid efforts.

The article also states that no accurate death toll is available for the war since August. That gap makes it impossible to give a reliable total for people killed during the period. It also shows how difficult it is to measure the conflict’s full human cost while fighting continues across several fronts.

Humanitarian groups based in Aden are facing increasing pressure. The city has suffered missile attacks on its airport and a presidential palace. Continued fighting, displacement, and uncertainty over casualty figures suggest that humanitarian needs will remain urgent as the military campaign develops.

Fresh UAE funding could restore the southern forces’ ability to fight after the UAE cut its funding supply line in January. Saudi air cover could give those forces protection and greater striking power. Together, the measures could slow Houthi advances and support the government’s announced counteroffensive.

The Giant Brigades provide a concrete example. They were trained and funded by the UAE and are regarded as among the anti-Houthi coalition’s most effective forces. Their renewed participation could increase pressure around places such as Marib and the Bab al-Mandab strait, where the government drive has had limited success.

For Saudi Arabia, stronger anti-Houthi forces might help reduce attacks on airports and energy infrastructure. However, the Southern Transition Council still resists fighting beyond former Southern Yemen. A stronger southern force could therefore produce battlefield gains while complicating Yemen’s unity dispute and prolonging displacement.

Southern separatists want a referendum because they seek a formal decision on separation from northern Yemen. The proposed outcome would restore the borders that existed from 1967 to 1990, when Yemen consisted of two separate states. The demand challenges the authority of Yemen’s unified, UN-recognised government.

The Southern Transition Council, or STC, has promoted this goal. Its leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, fled to Abu Dhabi after a failed attempt by the STC to take charge across the south and announce a referendum within two years. The group has not agreed for its troops to fight outside former Southern Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not yet responded to the referendum demand. The article says that an explicit Saudi agreement to allow a referendum would likely remove the STC’s restriction on fighting outside the south. That could broaden the anti-Houthi campaign while intensifying the separation dispute.

The Houthis are advancing across Yemen and are determined to capture Taiz and Marib. Yemen’s UN-recognised government, based in Aden, wants to drive Houthi forces from Sana’a. Its announced counteroffensive has so far achieved limited success around Majzar near Marib and the Bab al-Mandab strait.

The Southern Transition Council has a different priority. It seeks a referendum on southern separation and has restricted its troops from fighting beyond the old Southern Yemen. Saudi Arabia is focused on stopping Houthi attacks that have struck its airports and energy infrastructure. It is now offering air cover to anti-Houthi forces.

The UAE previously trained and funded southern forces, then quit operations and cut their funding. The proposed payments would restore that support. The article presents this as practical cooperation driven by Houthi advances, not as a settlement of the competing visions for Yemen’s future.

Acting in self-defence means claiming a country is responding to an armed attack rather than launching an unlawful offensive. The article says Saudi Arabia argues that its military campaign follows this principle and the UN Charter. The UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement asserting Saudi Arabia’s right to act in self-defence under international law.

That claim matters to countries supplying military help. The UK is considering further aid after sending an RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft. It must also consider whether supporting the Saudi air campaign could create legal problems, especially after a 2019 court ruling found earlier UK arms licences unlawful.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade said the UK had not properly assessed possible Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law. Saudi Arabia says it has substantially revised its methods. The debate shows that a self-defence claim does not automatically settle questions about how force is used or whether arms exports are lawful.