The death of Yemen's deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh by his former Houthi allies in December sparked new chaos in the already troubled country. Saleh had been playing a pivotal role to keep some tribes aligned with the Houthis. Although the disputes have not turned into renewed infighting, a new front was opened between the Saudi-backed central government and the Emirati-backed militias.Historically, Yemen was de facto separated into two. During the Cold War, the north was under Soviet influence. This time, the separatists in the south declared a state of emergency in Aden, vowing to overthrow the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government.

The Emirati-backed groups do not intend to gain full control in Yemen, but to divide the country into two, controlling the south only. At a meeting in Aden on Sunday, the Southern Transitional Council declared that Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr was responsible for the starvation of the population, as the country suffers from famine, contagious diseases and starvation due to the block imposed on international aid. "The Southern Resistance Forces (SRF) declare a state of emergency in Aden and announce that it has begun the process of overthrowing the legitimate government and replacing it with a cabinet of technocrats," the statement issued after the meeting said.

One of the main differences between the central government, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and the SRF is that the former allies of the Islah Party, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Although the Islah Party declared in December that it had severed ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was in strong opposition to allying with the party since the UAE considers the Muslim Brotherhood a national security threat and a terror organization. Saudi Arabia's attitude on the group is no different, yet Riyadh has been acting more pragmatically and was aware that the Islah Party was effective in Aden. Using the group since the war broke out, Saudi Arabia has attempted to negotiate with the UAE, and the leaders of the UAE and Saudi Arabia held a meeting with the Islah Party's chairman in December.

The surfacing of the dispute coincided with a huge Saudi investment to Yemen's central bank. "A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would commit $1.5 billion in new humanitarian aid for Yemen," a Reuters report said on Monday. "The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia and its allies face mounting criticism, including from the United States, over the massive civilian toll of Yemen's conflict, in which more than 10,000 people have been killed by coalition air-strikes and by fighting on the ground. The U.S.-backed alliance, which includes the UAE, said it had already completed the first aid flight of a new air bridge to the central city of Marib and had set up 17 overland corridors for aid shipments. It also plans to install four cranes in three southern ports held by the government to boost the flow of imports, coalition officials told a news conference in Riyadh," the report said.