UAE: Yemen exit should mitigate criticism and risks

GULF COUNTRIES - In Brief 12 Jul 2019 by Justin Alexander

---

The UAE is rapidly withdrawing troops from Yemen, having been the largest foreign presence in the south.Its involvement in the war had drawn wide criticism and tarnished its international reputation.Its exit reduces the risk of blowback attacks (drones and missiles) and escalation with Iran, which backs the Houthi rebels.Over the last week, the UAE's military partial withdrawal from Yemen, which had been telegraphed for over a month, has accelerated and become more extensive than had been expected. Rather than a tactical redeployment, it now looks more like a more concerted effort to exit the highly controversial conflict. This is a positive move for the UAE, because its international standing has been tarnished by its role in the war and its withdrawal should also mitigate the risks of blowback and entanglement in conflict with Iran. In fact, concern about tensions with Iran in the Gulf are likely to be part of the motivation for the withdrawal.Saudi Arabia pulled together the regional coalition that intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015, to support the president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, against the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia rebel movement which captured the capital, Sana'a, in 2014. However, the UAE's military has actually been the most important force on the ground, particularly in the South. While Saudi Arabia focused most of its energy into a (highly controversial) bombing campaign, the UAE deployed more troops on the ground, both citizens and mercenaries, trained and equipped Yemeni allies and funded stabilisation and development efforts. The UAE played a key role in pushing back the Houthi advance from Aden port in summer 2015 and then in liberating the res...