UAE Pulling Some Troops From Yemen, Citing Tensions in the Persian Gulf

While signs are that the Yemen War will continue to rage going forward, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seems to be in the process of relocating some of its ground troops out of Yemen and are moving them back to their home country.

UAE officials are downplaying the troop movements, saying they don’t amount to real redeployments. Others, however, indicate these moves are meant to shore up UAE’s defenses amid mounting regional tensions in the Persian Gulf.

This is amid US threats of a war with Iran, which could easily destabilize the whole Gulf region. Clearly the UAE isn’t comfortable having so many of its troops abroad if such a war is liable to break out.

Indications are that the UAE troops are being pulled primarily from them south Yemeni port of Aden and from the southwestern coast. These areas are squarely in the hands of Saudi-led forces, so it is unlikely to mark a major change on the ground, though as the UAE and Saudis often favor different factions within the same groups, it may mean some shifts within the power structure.