The long-standing rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen intensified with Saudi airstrikes targeting the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in late 2025, culminating in the STC's official dissolution on January 9, 2026. This series of events marks a critical escalation in the complex Yemeni conflict, reshaping the dynamics among the anti-Houthi factions.
Friction between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, while aligned against the Iran-backed Houthis, has been growing due to divergent priorities in Yemen. Saudi Arabia views Yemen as a crucial buffer and a potential vulnerability on its southern border, while the UAE has utilized covert and proxy networks to project its influence. This divergence openly escalated by late 2025.
On December 30, 2025, Saudi airstrikes targeted STC forces at the Port of Mukalla, aiming to halt the group's rapid territorial advances in southern and eastern Yemen. The STC, which had expanded its control over several southeastern provinces in December 2025 and announced plans for an independence referendum, faced a counter-offensive by the internationally recognized Yemeni government, known as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), in January 2026. This offensive, backed by Saudi Arabia, led to the recovery of all STC territorial gains and the expulsion of STC ministers from the PLC.
The official dissolution of the STC occurred on January 9, 2026, following these setbacks. The UAE, a key supporter of the STC, subsequently withdrew its remaining forces from Yemen in January 2026. This withdrawal followed an earlier statement by the UAE in December 2025 indicating its intention to pull forces from Yemen. The events underscore the fragility of alliances within the Yemeni conflict and the increasing assertiveness of Saudi Arabia in shaping the southern landscape of Yemen.
The broader Yemeni civil war, which began in 2014, has seen a complex interplay of regional powers. Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015, leading a coalition to support the Yemeni president. While a ceasefire has been in place since March 2022, and most restrictions on commercial goods were lifted by April 2023, the recent actions highlight continued instability and shifting power balances within the anti-Houthi factions. The Iran-backed Houthis have largely been unaffected by these internal shifts among the PLC forces.