Yemeni social media users posted the hashtag #UAE – stabs – Saudi because Abu Dhabi left Riyadh alone in the war against Yemen.
Once Saudi Arabia’s key ally in the Yemen war, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has seemingly parted ways with Riyadh, leaving North Yemen and calling for the independence of South Yemen. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, believes in Ansarullah hegemony in the north, fearing Iran’s influence will spread in the region. This has led to new friction between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
To understand why the United Arab Emirates entered Yemen war, we need to look at the early years of the war when the current crises in the Middle East was still forming.
Western Asia includes four geopolitical regions:
Region A: From Iran to the Mediterranean Sea
Region B: States bordering the Caspian Sea
Region C: States bordering eastern Iran (e.g., Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Region D: The Arabian Peninsula and states on the southern Persian Gulf border
In the latest geostrategic competition in the 21st century, Saudi Arabia and Israel, as the regional allies of the United States, experienced failure in regions A and B and were unable to compete with Turkey and Iran, with the exception of Saudi Arabia exerting some influence in Iraq and Israel in Azerbaijan. Their influence failed to take hold in region C as well due to Pakistan’s presence. In general, it could be said that region C is controlled by Pakistan and Iran, region B is under the control of Turkey and Russia, and region A is controlled by Iran and Turkey. The only permeable but vital strategic region where Saudi Arabia was able to get a foothold was region D. Since the beginning of the Arab Spring in Yemen (Saudi Arabia’s neighbor), Riyadh decided to completely control the region in order to prevent chaos from prevailing and to counter the influence of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.
However, Saudi Arabia has two principal rivals in its competition in region D, i.e., The Arabian Peninsula: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. These two countries are both very wealthy, and, unlike Riyadh, have an excellent relationship with the rest of the world. Both are looking to use their opportunities and gain better status in the Arab world.
In this context, after a period where they accompanied Saudi Arabia in various events in the Middle East, Qatar has drawn closer to Turkey and established good relations with Ankara and Tehran, Riyadh’s rivals.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also intended to put an end to the Saudi hegemony in the Arab world, and the war in Yemen was the best way to advance this position.
Abu Dhabi initially attempted to take control of Bab-el-Mandeb, one of the most important strategic straits in the world.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) entered the war in Yemen with two military forces. The first included the army, 90% of which was composed of its land force and 10% of air and naval forces, including three commands in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah (RAK). The structure of the UAE armed forces is very complicated, it has never been determined which of these three commands joined the Arab Coalition.
Nevertheless, the UAE’s main armed force in the war was the private military company (PMC) including African and American troops and military companies like DynCorp and ACADEMI. These military contracting companies have different objectives then the UAE’s armed forces. The armed forces were part of the Saudi-led coalition; nonetheless, the UAE-backed private mercenaries intend to occupy Yemen’s territory.
The clashes took place between the Arab Coalition and the supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis on the borders between northern and southern Yemen; however, the private mercenaries fought under the UAE command in the Abyan Governorate and on the shores of Hadhramaut Governorate. These provinces are the site of the battle between Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi’s forces and Ansar al-Sharia (i.e., the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda). Considering that the UAE-backed contractors did not enter into conflict with Ansar al-Sharia, it can be concluded that the UAE intends to assist the region’s independence by strengthening Ansar al-Sharia’s armed militia. The UAE navy was also present in the Taiz Governorate.
Strategically, Yemen is divided into two parts; e.g., land and islands. The Hanish group of islands, the Little Hanish and Zuqar Hanish are located in the Red Sea, while the Jabal al-Tair, Kamaran, and Perim islands, as well as The Zubair archipelago and the Socotra, Samhah, Darsah, and Abd al Kuri islands. Of these islands, the most important are Socotra and Perim.
