Fekry Abdeen and Rania Abu Shamala
01 January 2026•Update: 03 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Yemen’s presidential council said Thursday that ending the military presence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not mean a rupture in relations between the two sides.
“The decision to end the Emirati military presence was meant to correct the course of (the Saudi-led) coalition…in a way that ensures the cessation of any support for components outside the state," Rashd al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, said during a meeting with his advisers, as cited by the state news agency Saba.
“This does not mean a rupture in relations, or a denial of bilateral relations, or the legacy of cooperation based on common interests between the two brotherly countries,” he added.
On Tuesday, Alimi cancelled a joint defense agreement with the UAE and ordered all Emirati forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours and declared a 90-day state of emergency, citing what he described as “attempts to divide the country.”
The move came amid rising tensions after the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the country’s main separatist group, captured the eastern provinces of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra after clashes with government forces. The two governorates together make up nearly half of Yemen’s land area.
Saudi Arabia accused the UAE of pushing the STC forces to carry out military operations along the kingdom’s southern border in Hadramout and Mahra. The UAE rejected what it called “allegations” and stressed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security.
The Emirati Defense Ministry later said it had completed the mission of its remaining counterterrorism teams in Yemen, adding that it ended its military presence in 2019 as part of the Saudi-led coalition.
Alimi said the recent measures “were not driven by a desire for escalation or revenge, but were a legal and ethical response to the state’s duty to protect its citizens.” He warned against any attempts to circumvent these decisions.
Presidential council member Abdullah Al-Alimi, for his part, urged the STC to avoid fueling unrest or pushing the situation to further escalation.
In a post on the US social media company X, Abdullah said the room is still open for reducing tensions and preventing bloodshed “by making real withdrawals from Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra.”
He warned that opening a new front of conflict in Yemen would inevitably impact the country’s economic, social and living conditions and would further intensify the suffering of an already exhausted population.
The STC repeatedly claims that successive governments have politically and economically marginalized southern regions and calls for their separation from the north — claims rejected by the Yemeni authorities, as they insist on preserving the country’s territorial unity.
