Saudi Arabia Hits the Wall of Emirati Intelligence Influence in Southern Yemen
Security complications paralyze Riyadh’s efforts to tighten control over Aden and the southern governorates
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has revealed complex security and intelligence obstacles facing Saudi Arabia’s attempts to impose full security control over the city of Aden and several southern governorates, amid the refusal of UAE-linked security and military agencies to share intelligence information with Saudi-backed formations.
Emirati Refusal to Share Intelligence
According to the newspaper’s sources, agencies loyal to Abu Dhabi are refusing to share the so-called “intelligence database” and sensitive security details with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces and the Giants Brigades. This has resulted in a near-total paralysis within the joint operations room that Saudi Arabia is seeking to establish in order to unify security decision-making under its direct supervision.
Summons to Riyadh and Attempts at Restructuring
In an effort to break this deliberate information blackout, Saudi Arabia has recently intensified the summoning of dozens of security officers and police department directors from the governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, and Shabwa to the capital, Riyadh. The move aims to subject them to new security arrangements that ensure full loyalty to the Royal Court and to reengineer the security landscape in line with a strategy of “replacement and total control.”
An Intelligence Struggle Threatening to Explode
Observers believe that the ongoing state of “information infighting” once again confirms the transformation of occupied areas into an open arena for multiple competing intelligence agencies serving only the interests of external sponsors. They also note that Saudi Arabia’s failure to integrate these formations—despite years of attempts—highlights the fragility of “proxy” projects and turns them into ticking time bombs that could explode at any moment, potentially opening the door to a direct military confrontation between the tools of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in southern Yemen.
