Growing Rift between Saudi Arabia and UAE Explodes amid Yemen Conflict

Fri Jan 02 2026 20:24:51 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The ongoing civil war in Yemen has taken a new turn, with the Saudi Arabia and UAE backing rival factions in a conflict that threatens regional stability.

In a significant escalation of the Yemen conflict, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now openly at odds, each supporting competing factions in the south. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared a military offensive, which prompted a declaration of war from the Saudi-led coalition. As tensions rise, fears grow of a fragmented Yemen and increased humanitarian suffering.

Yemen's future hangs in the balance after a dramatic turn of events in the south which have brought Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into unprecedented direct confrontation and threaten the country with partition.

Both Gulf powers have intervened on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government in the country's long-running civil war, but a fracturing of the alliance has seen them backing different rival groups on the ground, one of whom is now pushing to declare the independence of a breakaway state in southern Yemen.

On Friday, the UAE-backed force declared that a war had begun, accusing Saudi-backed ground forces of launching a coordinated attack alongside air strikes by the Saudi air force.

Yemen's civil war broke out in 2014 and has plunged the already impoverished country into years of deadly violence and one of the world's worst hunger crises.

At the start of the war, the Iran-backed rebel Houthi movement took control of most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, from the government. The conflict escalated in 2015, when a coalition of Arab states including Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a military campaign to restore the government's rule.

A ceasefire has de-escalated the conflict with the Houthis in recent years, but infighting among the Saudi-led coalition has intensified. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has launched military offensives, claiming a need to restore stability in the south, but has been branded a rebellion by the Saudi-backed governing body.

Tensions have surged following airstrikes by Saudi forces targeting STC positions, leading to casualties and further instability. Following these strikes, the head of Yemen's Presidential Council announced the cancellation of a joint defense treaty with the UAE and called for Emirati forces to withdraw.

The current situation points to a broader tension in the region, with implications for both local stability and broader geopolitical dynamics. As Yemen's humanitarian crisis worsens, the conflict's evolution remains unpredictable, threatening the lives of millions in the region.