The United Arab Emirates has reached a new co-operation agreement with Saudi Arabia to resume funding and payments to southern Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis, with Riyadh agreeing to provide air cover for the ground units, according to the information provided.
The arrangement marks a potential easing of tensions between the two Gulf states over Yemen's future, as Houthi advances have raised security concerns across the region, says The Guardian.
The coalition's realignment comes as Saudi Arabia faces daily drone and missile attacks, with Houthi strikes disrupting airports and some energy infrastructure.
Recent attacks in Aden have highlighted the security threat. Two Houthi missiles struck Aden airport while a commercial passenger plane was preparing to depart, Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said. The missiles "landed about 500 metres from the Yemenia Airways aircraft, and approximately 100 metres from the midpoint of the runway".
A day earlier, a Houthi strike targeting a presidential palace in Aden killed at least five people and injured 16.
Houthi forces have also continued efforts to capture Taiz and Marib despite heavy losses. The two cities are described as "the two remaining cities outside the boundaries of the old Southern Yemen".
Coalition tensions and the UAE's withdrawal
The anti-Houthi coalition fractured in January 2026, when the UAE abruptly halted its operations and funding in Yemen.
The withdrawal followed a dispute after Southern Transition Council (STC) leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi unsuccessfully attempted to take control across southern Yemen and announce a secession referendum. Saudi forces subsequently bombed UAE arms shipments intended for STC troops.
Zubaidi fled to Abu Dhabi following the incident, and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government threatened to try him for treason.
The resumption of UAE support for the Giant Brigades, southern forces previously trained and financed by Abu Dhabi, is considered important to the coalition's military efforts. The units are described as "some of the most effective in the disjointed anti-Houthi military coalition".
Government counteroffensive and secession demands
The UN-recognised Yemeni government in Aden has launched a military operation aimed at pushing Houthi forces back from Sana'a. The campaign has achieved "limited success around Majzar near Marib and the Bab al-Mandab strait".
Meanwhile, STC separatists have called for a referendum to restore the borders that existed between 1967 and 1990, when South Yemen was an independent state.
Neither Riyadh nor Abu Dhabi has officially responded to the demand. STC fighters currently refuse to deploy beyond the borders of the former South Yemen, although an explicit Saudi agreement permitting a referendum would likely resolve that restriction.
Regional and international response
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has announced an emergency parliamentary session to grant the military powers to defend Saudi Arabia. He said Egypt "would not be taking any offensive action, and would only defend Saudi Arabia".
The United Kingdom has dispatched an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft following Saudi requests for military assistance. British ministers, however, face ongoing legal scrutiny over the country's military support, following a 2019 Court of Appeal ruling concerning arms export licensing and compliance with international humanitarian law.
On 15 October, the UN Security Council issued a statement affirming Saudi Arabia's right to act in self-defence under international law.
The United Nations has also reported that more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since August.