Saudi Arabia Orders UAE Troops Out of Yemen After Covert Arms Flap

The Night the Sky Over Aden Lit Up

At 02:14 local time, radar screens inside Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Air Base pinged a blip no one had cleared for passage. Within minutes, Royal Saudi Air Force jets thundered south, dropping precision-guided bombs on a convoy that, officials now say, was smuggling advanced weapons to UAE-backed militias in southern Yemen.

By dawn, the message from Riyadh was unmistakable: United Arab Emirates forces had 72 hours to pack up and leave the war-torn country they helped enter eight years ago.

What Sparked the Rare Public Rift?

Three senior Saudi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al-Khabar that the convoy intercepted near Al-Mokha carried Emirati-marked crates of short-range ballistic-missile components—hardware not approved by the Saudi-led coalition’s weapons registry.

"We will not allow any party, ally or not, to unilaterally change the military balance inside Yemen," one official said. "Our rules of engagement are clear."

UAE Response: Surprise, Then Silence

UAE state media initially called the strikes "an unfortunate misunderstanding" but deleted the post within an hour. Since then, Abu Dhabi’s embassy in Riyadh has released only a terse statement affirming commitment to the coalition’s original 2015 mandate.

Fallout on the Ground

• Commercial flights from Abu Dhabi to Socotra island were cancelled indefinitely.
• More than 400 UAE-trained Yemeni fighters reportedly switched allegiance to Saudi-backed units overnight.
• Oil futures jumped 2.6% on fears of broader Gulf instability.

Why It Matters Beyond Yemen

The split exposes cracks inside the Gulf coalition at a moment Washington is pressing for a cease-fire. Analysts warn that if the two richest Arab powers cannot coordinate, Iran-backed Houthi rebels could gain fresh momentum.

What Happens Next?

Diplomats from Oman and Kuwait have offered to mediate, but Riyadh’s demand for a full UAE withdrawal leaves little room for compromise. For civilians in Aden, the power vacuum is already palpable: food prices leapt 12% in two days, and black-market fuel lines snake around city blocks.

One displaced teacher, Umm Khaled, summed up the mood as she waited for bread: "We survived bombs, siege, and cholera. Now we wait to see which flag the next checkpoint will raise."