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Hudaydah is Yemen’s principal western Red Seaport, serving the bulk of the country’s northern population with supplies. Because of its unique position, the province has total control over the Red Sea’s transit channels for commerce and energy, and it may serve as the major naval base for the Yemeni National Salvation Government. The strategic islands around Hudaydah, such as Kamran, may also house coast-to-coast missile launchers and defence systems. Because Hudaydah and its environs are just 226 kilometres from Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, this port has grown in importance.
The Emiratis ran camps outside and around Hudaydah where they trained Sudanese mercenaries and stationed their troops during the Saudi-led assault on Yemen. As a consequence, the fall of the Emirati-controlled port of Hudaydah might be seen as a turning point in the Yemeni war, potentially shifting the balance of power in the seven-year struggle. Furthermore, Ansarullah’s enemies received most equipment and supplies from Hudaydah.
So why did the Emiratis easily abandon such a significant city? The withdrawal of the Saudi-Emirati alliance from Hudaydah has sparked a slew of questions and assessments. According to Al-Jazeera experts, the rapid withdrawal from Hudaydah was the result of an Emirati-Iranian agreement and a gift to the Yemeni government in Sanaa, bolstering the Houthis’ strategic position and morale.
Meanwhile, conversations between Iranian and Egyptian officials in Cairo and Baghdad, which led to Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister travelling to Sanaa, demonstrate that Tehran has stayed neutral in its Yemeni ally’s decisions. Yemeni reports indicate that the mercenaries’ withdrawal was part of a series of Saudi coalition force withdrawals from the provinces of Al-Mohra, Shabwa, and Aden that served as a warm-up for the eventual withdrawal from Yemen. Ordinary Yemenis, on the other hand, believe that their country is a graveyard for invaders and that Saudis and Emiratis must escape before being buried alive. Some commentators believe the Saudi coalition’s retreat from Hudaydah is aimed to convince Sanaa to make peace and cease attacks on Ma’rib; however, Ansarullah is unlikely to give up Ma’rib, which is only a short distance away. Some politicians believe the Saudi coalition’s withdrawal from Hudaydah demonstrates its commitment to the Stockholm Accord; however, the foreign envoys in charge of the accord in Hudaydah were uninformed of the Emirati evacuation of Hudaydah.
It is worth noting that a squadron of 12 Yemeni-built drones emerged in the sky over Abu Dhabi and Dubai a few months ago before being detected by Emirati radars and flying back to their bases. Following this incident, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces in Sanaa threatened the Emirati invaders in his address, saying that if they do not leave Yemen, they will pay a terrible price by being attacked by ballistic missiles and drone strikes on the selected targets. This message was well-received in Abu Dhabi, and the result is clear today. As a result of Ansarullah’s evident threat to destroy Dubai’s infrastructure, the Zayed ruling family most likely determined that making concessions to Ansarullah by abandoning Hudaydah was the best approach and the most dignified way to save face. Some military observers speculate that the evacuation of Hudaydah is being carried out to reinforce the Bab al-Mandeb region in preparation for an Ansarullah onslaught after Marib’s surrender.
Another view is that this was a strategy to shift the Saudi-Emirati coalition’s military weight to Taiz province to gain full control of the province and turn it into a political-military alternative to Marib province once it is liberated by Houthis.
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