- United Arab Emirates, main allies of theSaudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, they are withdrawing their troops from the country. According to the New York Times, the war is too expensive and difficult to solve for the Abu Dhabi government.
The Yemen conflict broke out in the 2015 and sees Saudi Arabia and its coalition against the rebels opposed Houthi. Riyadh intervened in support of the (Sunni) President 'Abd Rabbih Mansur Hadi after the Houthis had occupied the capital Sana'a with the aim of overthrowing the government. It is a complicated war because, in addition to the internal aspects, we must also take into account the international ones: Saudi Arabia, which is Sunni, looks with concern at the Houthi, who are Shia and supported by theIran, its rival in the Middle East.
Although the United Arab Emirates say they do not want to withdraw completely from the conflict, it is clear that they do not even want to get bogged down in a long and expensive war. Especially after having all in all reached their strategic goal, namely the preservation of the trade routes that pass through the Gulf of Aden, where - not surprisingly - they will maintain a presence.
The question is different for Saudi Arabia: even if without Abu Dhabi things will become more difficult, he cannot easily give up the war for reasons geopolitical. Riyadh is bordered to the south by Yemen and, as mentioned, wants to prevent the Houthis from taking power because they do not want Iran to increase its influence in the region.