UAE, Saudi Arabia sabotage planned strife in Yemen

Ahmed Sultan

Once again, terrorist groups have started operating to undermine the Arab coalition fighting the pro-Iran Houthi militia in Yemen since 2014.

The media machine of Islah, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, and al-Qaeda organization started a campaign of defamation on social media against the coalition. The campaign started especially after the victories the coalition scored against the Houthis in southern Yemen.

According to media reports, Yemeni vice-president Ali Mohssen al-Ahmar made efforts in the past period to convince President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to break away from the Arab coalition.

Yemeni media sites revealed the presence of contacts between al-Ahmar and Islah party leaders as well as the leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen Qassem al-Rimi with the aim of undermining the Arab coalition and giving the chance to terrorist groups to grow in Yemen.

Striking Aden’s terrorists

Emirati fighter jets staged a series of raids on a number of Yemeni cities, including Aden and Zanjibar, especially targeting militias and militants affiliated to terrorist organizations.

However, Hadi’s government tried to smear the operations of the coalition against terrorist groups. It tried to portray them as an action against the national Yemeni army.

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eriani claimed on Facebook that the Emirati strikes had targeted the Yemeni army. He said the raids had killed a number of army troops.

Eriani did not, however, refer to links between the militias targeted by the Emirati fighter jets and the extremist organizations that operate with full knowledge from the Yemeni president and vice-president al-Ahmar.

The UAE Foreign Ministry issued a statement immediately in which it proved lies propagated in this regard. It said the strikes staged by the Emirati fighter jets in Aden targeted terrorist militias.

It said the strikes were direct and precise, noting that the targeted militias had planned attacks against Arab coalition troops.

The UAE Foreign Ministry went on to note that terrorist groups had stepped up their attacks against Arab coalition troops as well as civilians.

“This was a direct threat to these troops,” the Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

It said this made attacks against these militias necessary, in the light of engagement rules stipulated in the Geneva Conventions and the international humanitarian law.

Emirates, the Foreign Ministry said in the statement, would brook no delay in defending Arab coalition troops whenever it is necessary.

It said UAE intelligence agencies noticed an increased in the activities of terrorist groups.

“This poses threats to the efforts made by the Arab coalition which tries to eradicate terrorism in Yemen,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Pentagon praise

The Pentagon said the UAE has the right to defend its own interests and protect troops backing it inside Yemen.

Spokesperson Rebecca Rebarich said states have the right to defend their own interests.

It said Pentagon rejects charges by the government of Yemen against the United Arab Emirates in relation to the latest strikes.

Another American official, who requested anonymity, said the UAE has the right to decide its own options and defend its interests in Yemen the way it sees fit.

The US, the official said, stands side by side with Emirates as a strategic ally.

Fuelling the war

Islah Party did its best to draw Hadi away from the Arab coalition which works to rescue Yemen from the claws of the terrorists.

The party used its good ties with al-Ahmar in helping its members occupy important positions inside the Yemeni military establishment. Islah militants inside the army tried to control southern Yemeni cities liberated previously from Houthi control by the Arab coalition.

Islah and Hadi’s Foreign Ministry worked tooth and nail to prove that the UAE airstrikes had targeted the national Yemeni army. They did this in an attempt to divide the Arab coalition.

The party succeeded in effect in convincing Hadi to hammer out an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood and break away from the coalition. They convinced him that militias would come to his support and help him protect his power.

Hadi tried to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He even called for suspending what he described as “Emirati interference” in his country’s affairs.

Weak man crying

Hadi’s statements only reflect the failure of his troops and his Brotherhood allies in controlling the situation in liberated cities in southern Yemen.

This is particularly true after the advances the security Belt troops, which fight the Houthis, the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda, made.

The troops scored significant victories in Abyan. They kicked Islah troops out of Adem and controlled other areas.

The same troops ended confrontations with Brotherhood militants in their favor and controlled the whole of Zanjibar city, the capital of Abyan province.

Traitors joining hands

Head of the Transitional Southern Council Aidarus al-Zoubaidi lashed out at what he described as the “coalition of evil” which wants to bring Yemen down.

He said the developments of the past weeks showed the presence of coordination between the Houthi militia and the Muslim Brotherhood, on one hand, and other terrorist groups active in Yemen, on the other.

Al-Qaeda had earlier issued a statement, in which it called for staging attacks against elite troops in Shabwah. The organization accused the troops of fighting it.

Al-Qaeda added in the statement it issued in July that the UAE played a major role in the war against it in Yemen.

The UAE played this role, it said, either directly or through the elite troops in Shabwah. Al-Qaeda also vowed to take revenge.