Experts see connections to the conflict in Sudan, which is also on the Red Sea and where Riyadh and Abu Dhabi also support different sides. The Emirates recently got the impression that Riyadh is seeking sanctions from the USA against Abu Dhabi because of its alleged arms deliveries to the country. The German Press Agency learned this from informed circles in the Gulf. Riyadh rejects this. However, these developments around Sudan led to the Emirates pushing forward the STC’s sudden advance in Yemen.
There are also connections with the de facto independent region of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, which Israel recently recognized as a sovereign state and whose coast is only dozens of kilometers away from Yemen as the crow flies. If Israel were to station troops there, it would be a direct threat to Saudi Arabia. The message that Riyadh sent with the surprise air strike in Yemen was probably also aimed at Somaliland, says Abdel Kadir al-Chali, a political observer in Yemen, to the dpa.
