Saudi Arabia has called for Yemen's southern factions to attend a "dialogue" in Riyadh, after deadly air strikes and a surprise independence bid by UAE-backed separatist militia.
In a statement posted to social media early on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry urged "a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to bring together all southern factions to discuss just solutions to the southern cause".
Riyadh said the Yemeni government had issued the invitation for talks.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have for years supported various factions within Yemen's government-run territories.
One of those factions, the Abu Dhabi-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), is now pushing to declare independence and form a breakaway state, which would split the Arabian Peninsula's poorest state in two.
The STC, which has seized large swaths of territory in recent weeks, has announced plans for a two-year transitional process to establish "South Arabia" in Yemen’s south.
The head of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaid, issued a video statement saying that the constitution his group issued would be in effect for two years, after which a referendum would be held on "exercising the right to self-determination for the people of the South."
During those two years, he said, the "relevant parties" in north and south Yemen should hold a dialogue on "a path and mechanisms that guarantee the right of the people of the South."
He said that if the other factions don’t agree to his call or if they take military action, "all options remain open."
The 30-article "constitution" proclaimed the creation of "the State of South Arabia," covering the same territory of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, the independent southern state that existed from 1967-1990.
On Friday, air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition left 20 dead, according to the separatists.
The Saudi-backed coalition was formed in 2015 in an attempt to dislodge the Houthis from Yemen's north.
But after a decade-long civil war, the Houthis remain in place while the Saudi and Emirati-backed factions attack each other in the south.
Regional security and stability
Also on Friday, the UAE claimed it had fully withdrawn all its forces from Yemen.
In a statement carried by the state news agency WAM, the Ministry of Defence said it had pulled out its remaining "counterterrorism" personnel on its own decision, in coordination with partners and with steps taken to ensure the safety of its forces.
The ministry said the move followed a review of the current situation and was in line with the UAE’s stated role in supporting security and stability in the region.
On December 30, the UAE said it would voluntarily end its remaining "counterterrorism" missions by early January, bringing its military presence in Yemen to a close as tensions within the Gulf deepened.
Those tensions rose in late 2025 after STC separatists took control of key eastern areas of Yemen, including Hadramout.
Saudi Arabia responded with air strikes on what it said were UAE arms shipments and called for Emirati forces to vacate immediately.
