Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...welcomes the UAE’s troop withdrawal in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, but tensions will remain while Abu Dhabi backs separatists there, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Wednesday.
Riyadh’s position is "wait and see" after the UAE announced a pullout on Tuesday, under pressure over a sweeping advance by the separatist forces in Yemen’s south.
Hours before the UAE’s announcement, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen bombed an alleged Emirati weapons shipment, and Riyadh endorsed a 24-hour deadline issued by Yemen’s presidential council leader for UAE forces to leave.
"It’s a good de-escalation step, but how will it play out?" the source told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to the UAE withdrawal.
"Saudi wants to see if UAE will halt supporting the separatists," he added.
The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council’s forces have swept through divided Yemen’s government-run areas this month, seizing much of resource-rich Hadramawt bordering Saudi Arabia and the neighboring Mahra province.
The rapid advance spells fresh upheaval for Yemen after more than a decade of war between the Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels who forced the government from the capital Sanaa in 2014.
It has also jolted Saudi peace negotiations with the Houthis and drawn simmering tensions with the UAE, Saudi’s neighbor and fellow oil power, into public view.
"With the withdrawal, we will have to wait and see what that means," the source said.
"What counts is their support to the separatists... we will have to see if (the UAE) are serious," he added.
Abu Dhabi on Tuesday denied being behind the advance by the separatists, who insisted they were not about to withdraw from their newly captured territories.
The UAE joined the Saudi coalition against the Houthis in 2015 but withdrew most of its forces four years later, leaving only a limited number in Yemen.