UAE Dismantling Eritrea Base, Reflecting Scaled Down Ambitions in Yemen

Port and Airstrip were built for Yemen War

Satellite images show that the United Arab Emirates are dismantling parts of their military base in Eritrea, and may be pulling back from a base hugely expanded in 2015 as part of their ambitions of the Yemen war.

At the time, the UAE expanded the port there and installed a new airstrip, meant to facilitate getting Sudanese troops to Yemen. Thousands of Sudanese troops were ultimately sent to Yemen.

The war still isn’t going too well, and some are suggesting this not only reflects the UAE rethinking their planned regional power goals, but possibly how involved they intend to be in Yemen going forward.

If true, the real question here might be for Sudan, whose troops are still in Yemen, and may not have a ready-made ticket home, assuming the war is ever resolved.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.