NYN | News
Tensions are mounting within the UAE-backed forces on Yemen’s western coast after the uncovering of an attempted arms smuggling operation to the Horn of Africa — allegedly involving field actors linked to those forces — amid accusations of external coordination to support Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to Crater Sky, the dispute erupted within the joint security campaign in recent hours after the Nation Shield Forces (Dir’ Al-Watan) opposed such movements, describing them as a direct threat to regional security and inconsistent with the objectives of the campaign, which Abu Dhabi oversees indirectly.
Sources explained that the tensions are not new but rather the continuation of long-standing disputes between Dir’ Al-Watan and commander Hamdi Al-Shukri, who is accused in field reports of attempting to monopolize the campaign’s achievements and attribute them solely to his own forces — even though Dir’ Al-Watan bears the full cost of logistics and field supplies, including provisions for the Giants Brigades.
According to the site, Dir’ Al-Watan’s leadership had previously tried to contain the differences to preserve unity, but the alleged attempt to smuggle weapons became the breaking point that brought the conflict into the open.
Reports added that Hamdi Al-Shukri had deployed one of the Hays Brigades to positions under Dir’ Al-Watan’s control along the Bab al-Mandab coast — a move seen as an attempt to impose a new field reality in an area under Emirati influence and considered one of the most sensitive points along international shipping routes.
These developments come within a broader context of recurring accusations against the United Arab Emirates of playing a destabilizing role in several regional conflicts — including in Yemen, Libya, and Sudan — with international reports pointing to Abu Dhabi’s involvement in supporting armed groups that serve its agendas and in fueling conflicts by financing and arming rival factions. Such actions have raised growing concern about their impact on regional security and stability.
The UAE also faces increasing international criticism over its military and political interventions in countries suffering internal crises, amid calls for it to end its support for militias and instead engage in genuine peace efforts rather than exacerbating conflicts.
