Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry has called for Yemen's southern factions to attend a 'dialogue' in Riyadh, after a dramatic turn of events in the south brought Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into unprecedented direct confrontation.
Both Gulf powers have intervened on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government in the country's long-running civil war, but a fracturing of the alliance has seen them backing different rival groups on the ground. One of the groups is now pushing to declare the independence of a breakaway state in southern Yemen.
On Friday, the UAE-backed force declared that a 'war' had begun, accusing Saudi-backed ground forces of launching an attack alongside air strikes by the Saudi air force.
The Saudi ministry urged 'a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to bring together all southern factions to discuss just solutions to the southern cause' in a statement on social media. Riyadh said the Yemeni government had issued the invitation for talks.
Yemen's civil war broke out in 2014 and has plunged the already impoverished country into years of deadly violence and one of the world's worst hunger crises.
At the start of the war, the Iran-backed rebel Houthi movement took control of most of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, from the government. The conflict escalated in 2015, when a coalition of Arab states including Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a military campaign to restore the government's rule.
A ceasefire has de-escalated the conflict with the Houthis in recent years and led to a freezing of the front lines.
But the Saudi-backed ruling coalition - the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), formed in 2022 and designed to unite various anti-Houthi factions - has frayed. Meanwhile, the vast majority of southern Yemen has been taken by UAE-backed separatists, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is formally part of the coalition.
The infighting escalated on 2 December, when the STC - which seeks an independent state in the south - launched a large-scale military offensive in the east of the country and rapidly took control of territory from government forces. The STC's advances included the oil-rich Hadramawt province that borders Saudi Arabia.
The STC claimed the offensive was necessary to 'restore stability' in southern Yemen, but it was denounced as a 'rebellion' by the head of the PLC, Rashad al-Alimi, who indicated that the STC’s separatist push threatened to fracture Yemen and plunge the region into chaos.
Tensions escalated with air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, resulting in casualties at an STC military camp, followed by further strikes aimed at the southern port of Mukalla, allegedly targeting UAE military supplies.
The UAE foreign ministry denied allegations of weapon shipments, stating the vehicles were meant for Emirati forces. After the joint defence treaty with the UAE was cancelled, Saudi Arabia asserted that the UAE's actions jeopardized its national security.
This ongoing disunity in the coalition signifies a complex struggle over influence in Yemen, particularly in key regional maritime routes. With humanitarian conditions deteriorating rapidly, the prospect of further violence remains a significant concern for the people of Yemen.
