Saudi-Backed Forces Retake Mukalla in Yemen's Hadramout Amid Bombing Campaign and Gulf Tensions
Mukalla, Yemen — Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have regained control of the strategic port city of Mukalla in the Hadramout region following several days of intense airstrikes, marking a significant escalation in the country's long-running civil war. The operation comes as Saudi Arabia discloses details of its renewed bombing campaign, coinciding with heightened frictions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over alleged support for southern separatists.
The recapture of Mukalla, announced on January 5, 2026, follows clashes that erupted around December 31, 2025, between Saudi-aligned troops and separatist fighters linked to Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC). According to reports from the Associated Press, the Saudi-supported forces moved swiftly to dislodge the separatists after a series of precision airstrikes targeted their positions in the city and surrounding areas. Mukalla, a key economic hub on Yemen's eastern coast with a vital deep-water port, had fallen under separatist influence in recent weeks, threatening government control over lucrative oil and gas transit routes.
This development underscores the fragility of Yemen's fractured alliances within the anti-Houthi coalition. Saudi Arabia, leading the coalition since its intervention in March 2015, has intensified its aerial operations to bolster the internationally recognized Yemeni government against multiple fronts: Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the north, al-Qaeda affiliates in the east, and now resurgent separatist groups in the south.
Escalation Details and Regional Rivalries
The airstrikes represent a rare public acknowledgment by Saudi Arabia of its direct military involvement in Hadramout, a vast desert governorate that has largely avoided the frontlines of the Houthi war but remains contested due to its resources. Saudi officials have revealed operational details of the campaign, including the use of fighter jets to neutralize separatist strongholds, as tensions simmer with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Riyadh has accused Abu Dhabi of tacitly backing the STC, which seeks an independent south Yemen and controls swaths of territory including Aden.
In response, the UAE has signaled an impending full withdrawal of its forces from Yemen, a move first announced in 2019 but partially reversed amid shifting dynamics. Recent exchanges highlight mutual recriminations: Saudi Arabia claims UAE support enables separatist advances, while Emirati sources allege Saudi favoritism toward Islamist elements within the Yemeni government. These frictions threaten to unravel the Saudi-led coalition, which has conducted over 100,000 airstrikes since 2015, according to United Nations estimates, contributing to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Yemeni government spokespeople hailed the Mukalla operation as a "decisive victory" against "foreign-backed militias," though specific casualty figures remain unconfirmed. Separatist leaders, operating from Aden, condemned the strikes as "aggression" and vowed retaliation, potentially drawing in additional proxy forces.
Background: Yemen's Multi-Front Civil War
Yemen's conflict traces back to 2014, when Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, seized the capital Sanaa and ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition—including the UAE—to restore Hadi's government, launching Operation Decisive Storm. The war has killed over 377,000 people, mostly from indirect causes like famine and disease, per UN data, and displaced millions.
Hadramout, spanning over 150,000 square kilometers, has been a relative backwater until now. Its oil fields produce about 10% of Yemen's output, and Mukalla's port handles exports critical to the national economy. The STC, formed in 2017 with UAE training and funding, emerged from disillusionment with the central government, advocating secession based on pre-1990 borders. Clashes between STC forces and Saudi-backed Hadrami tribes escalated in late 2025, fueled by control over smuggling routes and anti-al-Qaeda operations.
The UAE's planned drawdown, amid its pivot to economic diversification under Vision 2030, leaves a vacuum that could empower Houthis or extremists. Riyadh has stepped up ground support via the Giants Brigades and other proxies, but faces domestic pressure to wind down the war, which has cost Saudi Arabia an estimated $100 billion.
Outlook: Risks of Broader Fragmentation
The retaking of Mukalla stabilizes Saudi influence in the east but risks provoking a wider rift with the UAE, potentially fragmenting the anti-Houthi front. UN-mediated talks in Geneva, scheduled for mid-January 2026, aim to address separatist grievances, but progress is stalled by ongoing hostilities.
Humanitarian agencies warn of dire consequences: Hadramout hosts over 200,000 internally displaced persons, and airstrikes have disrupted aid convoys. The World Food Programme reports acute malnutrition affecting 2.7 million Yemenis nationwide.
As Saudi Arabia recalibrates its strategy—possibly through increased drone surveillance and special forces—the focus shifts to whether this escalation restores unity or accelerates Yemen's balkanization. With Houthis advancing in Marib and Red Sea shipping under threat from their attacks, the kingdom's Yemen campaign remains a pivotal test of Gulf security architecture.
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