Saudi Urges UAE-Backed Separatists To Withdraw From Hadramout And Mahra, Raising Fears Of Gulf Rift

Saudi Arabia has publicly demanded that UAE-backed separatist forces in southern Yemen withdraw from two strategically important governorates they recently seized, a move that could deepen divisions within the anti-Houthi coalition.

What Saudi Asked For: The Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to pull its fighters out of Hadramout and Mahra — both provinces that border Saudi Arabia and Oman — and to hand control to a Saudi-backed Yemeni group.

Separatist Response: Leaders of the separatist movement accused the kingdom of launching air strikes against their positions on Friday, an allegation that has further escalated tensions between the parties.

Strategic Stakes: Hadramout and Mahra are strategically significant for border security and maritime routes. Control of these provinces has implications for influence in southern Yemen and for the balance between Gulf partners supporting different local actors.

Analyst View: The confrontation raises the risk of reviving a conflict that has been largely dormant for nearly four years and could pit US allies in the Gulf against one another. April Longley Alley, a former adviser to the UN’s Yemen envoy, warned that "US allies are on a collision course in Yemen," and suggested that the US president may need to intervene to bring Abu Dhabi and Riyadh into alignment.

"US allies are on a collision course in Yemen," — April Longley Alley

Why It Matters: A rupture between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over control in southern Yemen could undermine the broader coalition fighting the Houthi movement, increase the risk of renewed military clashes, and complicate international diplomatic efforts to stabilize Yemen.