What remains of the UAE’s legitimacy in the Saudi coalition

The UAE’s public openness to enable its armed militias to turn against the internationally recognized Yemeni government raises questions about what remains of Abu Dhabi’s legitimacy in its key role in the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

The Yemeni government officially blamed the UAE for the “coup” on legitimacy in the interim capital of Aden. In a statement, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry called on the UAE to withdraw and stop its military support for these “rebel groups completely and immediately.”

The Foreign Ministry said the Saudi-led legitimacy alliance came mainly in response to an invitation from President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, based on international law and the UN Charter to protect Yemen from the Iranian-backed Houthi coup.

The Foreign Ministry added that what Aden suffered during the past few days is a “coup against legitimacy”, which clearly contradicts the reason for which the Saudi-UAE alliance was called.

This comes days after the UAE-backed separatists were able to complete control of Aden and topple the internationally recognized Yemeni government institutions.

Observers rule out that Saudi Arabia conspired with the UAE to separate southern Yemen from the north as it is not in their interest. What happened in Aden was a defeat to Saudi before it was a defeat for the Yemeni government based in Riyadh.

Observers believe that Saudi Arabia cannot challenge the UAE. The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman owes his presence in his position to the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, who brought him to his position through his unique relationship with the administration of President Trump, and supported him in a major crisis after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi his relations with the Americans and the Israelis, Khashoggi bears a huge military and financial burden in the Yemen war.

Mohammed bin Salman continues to rely on Abu Dhabi as a home of expertise in politics and economics, and a social outlet for the kingdom, despite the major “openness” steps it has taken. Most of Salman’s advisers still reside in the UAE, such as Turki al-Dakhil and Abdul Rahman al-Rashed.

A few days ago, Emirates Leaks learned from reliable sources that Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi rejected a Saudi attempt to arrange a meeting between him and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

The sources said that Riyadh wished to arrange the meeting on the sidelines of bin Zayed’s visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday in order to bridge the views regarding the escalating crisis between Yemeni legitimacy and the UAE recently.

While Bin Zayed agreed to meet as part of his attempts to evade even a relative responsibility for the UAE’s coup against Yemeni legitimacy, Hadi categorically refused to meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

In his quick visit to Saudi, bin Zayed met only King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before leaving Riyadh angry at the Yemeni President’s position.

On Saturday, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council took control of most of the positions and camps of the presidential guard loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government, which is based in Aden as a temporary capital, following the fall of Sanaa to Houthi rebels.

Hours before the visit, Mecca itself hosted two separate meetings of the king and his crown prince with Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Yemeni officials to discuss recent developments in Aden after Yemen formally blamed the UAE for the secessionist coup against the government institutions. .

During his visit to Riyadh, bin Zayed claimed to support Riyadh’s call for a dialogue in Jeddah, without any indication of progress in efforts to resolve the crisis in Aden, after the Yemeni government officially blamed the UAE for the coup of the separatist “Southern Transitional Council” in Aden.

The control of the UAE-backed forces in Aden comes days after Abu Dhabi announced the withdrawal of its forces from Yemen, which observers considered an attempt by the UAE to release its responsibility for “a planned action against the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.”

Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maisari in the government of President Hadi revealed details of the UAE’s implementation of the recent coup in the southern city of Aden.

This came in a recorded speech to the facilitator, today, before leaving the city of Aden (south), posted on social media sites, admitting defeat, but stressed that it will not be the last battle.

Al-Maissari said that Saudi was silent on what happened to us for four days, and our partner in the coalition (UAE) slaughtered us from the vein to the vein.

Al-Maysari’s statement revealed that the UAE carried out the coup in Aden using at least 400 vehicles, led by forces from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.

He continued: “We fought them with primitive weapons,” pointing out that Saudi Arabia remained silent until the UAE carried out the coup, and described its silence as “suspicious.”

He pointed out that he is deported with others from Yemen to Riyadh through the airport of Aden, after the theft and looting of their things.