Since 2015, the UAE has played a key role in the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen after the Iran-backed Houthis took over the capital Sanaa, from driving the rebels out of the south, to carrying out counter-terrorism operations.
The UAE ended its military presence within the coalition in 2019, but kept a limited number of specialised teams in Yemen as part of counter-terrorism efforts. On Tuesday, the Emirates announced it was withdrawing all remaining counter-terrorism units, hours after a Saudi strike hit armoured vehicles belonging to its forces in the southern port of Mukalla.
Here is a timeline of major events that marked the country's role in Yemen:
March 2015: The UAE joins the Saudi-led coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
July 2015: The city of Aden is liberated from the Houthis with the support of Emirati forces.
August 2015: Abyan is taken back from the Houthis. A year later it was liberated from Al Qaeda – two operations driven by UAE forces.
September 2015: A Houthi missile attack kills 45 Emirati soldiers.
April 2016: Yemeni forces backed by the UAE, with help from US intelligence, surveillance and air refuelling, drive Al Qaeda out of Mukalla, taking away the extremist group’s most valuable base.
January 2017: The port city of Mocha is liberated from the Houthis with the support of Emirati forces
June 2018: The UAE leads a campaign to free the city of Hodeidah and its port from the Houthis at the request of Yemen's internationally recognised government.
2019: The UAE ends its military presence within the Saudi-led coalition, but retains a limited number of specialised teams as part of counter-terrorism efforts.
February 2020: At a ceremony welcoming the returning troops, the UAE revealed that 15,000 Emirati soldiers had been sent to Yemen as part of the coalition, with more than 130,000 air operations carried out.
January 2022: Three civilians are killed in a Houthi drone attack on Abu Dhabi. The UAE later intercepts and destroys two ballistic missiles fired towards the emirate by the rebels.
April 2022: The UAE contributes to a $2 billion pledge for economic support to the Central Bank of Yemen.
February 2023: The UAE participates in an international donor conference organised by Sweden and Switzerland, in co-operation with the UN, in Geneva. The UAE later announces that, since 2015, it has provided Yemen with $6.6 billion in aid and a $300 million deposit to bolster the local currency.
December 2025: Tensions rise after the Southern Transitional Council's military takeover of Mahra and Hadhramaut, which share a 700km border with Saudi Arabia. A Saudi strike hits armoured vehicles belonging to UAE forces in the southern port of Mukalla. The UAE announces the withdrawal of all remaining counter-terrorism teams.
