By Yousef Saba
DUBAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Yemen’s more than decade-long civil war has flared up after a United Arab Emirates-backed separatist movement swept through territory in the south, splintering the Saudi-led coalition that was created to fight the Iran-aligned Houthi group.
Below are details of the key factions in the conflict in Yemen, which has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises:
THE HOUTHIS
The Yemeni conflict was triggered when the Houthi movement, formally named Ansar Allah, ousted the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government of then-president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi in late 2014.
The group remains the dominant military force in the country, controlling the capital Sanaa and Yemen’s populous northern highlands. It is estimated to control territory where between 60% to 65% of Yemenis live.
The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of arming, training and funding the Houthis. The group denies being an Iranian proxy and says it develops its own weapons.
The Houthis have demonstrated their missile and drone capabilities during the Yemen war in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, targeting oil installations and vital infrastructure.
Seen as part of a regional alliance known as the “Axis of Resistance” backed by Iran, the Houthis have also rallied behind the Palestinians in the Gaza war, lobbing drones and missiles at Israel and attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have proven resilient, defying over ten years of bombing by the Saudi-led coalition, as well as U.S. and British strikes in recent years.
SAUDI ARABIA
Riyadh entered Yemen when it led the military coalition against the Houthis in March 2015, seeking to restore Hadi’s government. Saudi Arabia sought to prevent an Iran-aligned group from consolidating power on its southern border.
Riyadh and Tehran, despite a China-brokered thawing of relations, have long been regional rivals and deeply distrust one another.
STC
The Southern Transitional Council, which was trained and equipped by the United Arab Emirates, seeks secession for the south, which was an independent state until unification with the north in 1990. The southern leadership at the time tried to secede in 1994 but was swiftly beaten by then-President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s army.
The STC, led by Aidarous al-Zubaidi, is ostensibly part of the Saudi-led coalition but declared in 2020 it would establish self-rule in the south. Tensions peaked in December 2025 when the group seized large swathes of land in Hadramout and Al Mahra provinces and swept to the borders of Saudi Arabia, challenging the regional heavyweight’s influence.
ISLAH PARTY
The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, better known as al-Islah, is a Sunni Islamist movement with historic ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. It is a key faction within the recognised government but is viewed by the UAE and the STC as a terrorist organisation. Its major stronghold has long been Marib, the country’s sole gas-producing region with one of its largest oilfields.
UAE
The UAE joined the Saudi-led coalition and was among its most effective ground forces. A withdrawal of UAE troops was announced in 2019 and completed in 2020, but it maintained influence on the ground through the STC and other factions.
Abu Dhabi is motivated by its antipathy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and securing shipping lanes in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden, analysts have said.
THE SAUDI-BACKED GOVERNMENT
The eight-member Presidential Leadership Council, led by Rashad al-Alimi, is the internationally recognised authority in Yemen but faces dwindling power. It was formed in Riyadh in April 2022 to replace former president Hadi and unify anti-Houthi forces, but the council has been paralysed by the divisions it was meant to solve.
Following the STC’s December offensive, the government’s effective control is likely now limited to small, isolated pockets, and is reliant on Saudi airpower.
NATIONAL RESISTANCE FORCES
The National Resistance Forces are a well-equipped anti-Houthi force led by Tarek Saleh, a nephew of former Yemeni president Saleh and a member of the PLC. Originally established with UAE support to battle the Houthis on Yemen’s west coast, the force has maintained ties to Saudi Arabia and aims for a unified Yemen, positioning itself as a counterweight to both the Houthis and southern secessionists.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Michael Georgy and Sharon Singleton)
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