UAE confirms pull back in Yemen war, but denies full withdrawal

Official says key ally in Saudi-led coalition will shift to countering jihadists groups such as al-Qaeda in southeast of country

The United Arab Emirates has denied it is withdrawing from the war in Yemen as officials confirmed it is drawing down troops and redeploying others to focus on counterterrorism in the southeast of the country.

Experts have claimed the surprise decision may strain ties with key ally Saudi Arabia, a point Emirati officials also denied in interviews with The Independent.

The UAE has been a key player in the Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to back the internationally recognised government against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels after they captured the capital Sanaa.

Since then, tens of thousands of people – mostly civilians – have been killed in the conflict that has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and driven the country to the brink of famine.

The two sides have been locked in a stalemate over the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeida after a tentative ceasefire deal was hammered out in Sweden in December.

The UAE, whose forces have helped trained some 90,000 Yemeni tribesmen, former security forces and southern militiamen, announced this week it was redeploying and reducing its troops mainly from areas like Hodeida in northern Yemen.

One official told The Independent Emirati would shift to countering jihadists groups such as al-Qaeda in the southeast of the country.

It is in this area that they have been spearheading, sometimes controversial, counter-terror operations in strategic cities such as Mukalla.

The same official said it was not indicative of strained ties with Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly consulted about the move that was planned for over a year.

However there have been signs of tensions: violence flared last January when Southern Transitional Forces, trained by the UAE, briefly seized control of the southern port city Aden from the recognised Yemeni government that is backed by Saudi Arabia and is temporarily based there.

A separate senior UAE official said the Emirati is planning a “strategic redeployment” in Hodeida as well as other “very tactical” places based on needs.

The redeployment conversation has been going on for “over a year,” and the conversation “heightened” following the signing of the Stockholm Agreement.

The redeployment is “fundamentally not linked to an increase in tension”, he added.

“Our commitment in Yemen remains”, the official concluded, adding they remained part of the coalition.

But analysts have said that the drawdown may “isolate” Saudi Arabia at a tricky time.

Elana DeLozier, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Studies, said that the decision is “almost certainly causing tension with Riyadh”.

“[Saudi Arabia ] must now rethink its own approach to the war. Previously, the Emiratis swallowed their war fatigue and stayed the course in order to maintain a united front with the Saudis,” she wrote.

Andreas Krieg, a professor at King’s College London, told AFP that the reputation of the Emirates, an ally of the UK and US, had “taken a severe hit ” due to the war, in which both the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition have been accused of war crimes.

“Behind closed doors, the Saudis aren’t going to be happy, but I don’t think that either Saudi Arabia or the Emirates have an interest in a public rift,” he added.

Increasing regional differences with Iran may also have helped seal the troop reduction, James Dorsey, a Middle East expert, told AFP.