News

Saudi Arabia, UAE vow to back Yemen war effort amid cracks

Posted August 26, 2019 7:00 am

By JON GAMBRELL

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, file photo, fighters from a militia known as the Security Belt, that is funded and armed by the United Arab Emirates, discuss launching a mortar towards Houthi rebels, in an area called Moreys, on the frontline in Yemen's Dhale province. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, to keep their floundering coalition war against Yemen's Houthi rebels together after an Emirati troop pullout and the rise of the southern separatists they supported. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged Monday to keep their floundering coalition war against Yemen's Houthi rebels together after an Emirati troop pullout and the rise of the southern separatists they supported.

The joint communique came as the Houthis launched at least six ballistic missiles and two drone attacks into Saudi Arabia, keeping up its pressure on the kingdom as online infighting between the Emirati and Saudi intelligentsia exposed growing cracks between the usually lockstep oil-rich nations.

The statement, carried by both the Emirati and Saudi state news agencies, said both nations' "political, military, relief and development efforts" would continue. It also said the countries both rejected and condemned the "accusations and defamation campaigns targeting the UAE" since its decision in June to begin withdrawing troops.

The UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Dubai, has not publicly acknowledged how many troops it withdrew from Yemen. Yemeni officials have suggested Emirati troop strength has dropped by as much as 75% out of around 10,000 troops.

The Emirati withdrawal followed rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, suggesting Abu Dhabi worried about having forces at home in case an armed conflict broke out.

While Emirati troops often weren't directly involved in front-line combat, they organized local forces and handled intelligence operations in Yemen's south. Those forces included separatists seeking their own nation who have swept into areas to seize control from Yemen's internationally recognized government, leading to clashes between the supposed allies erupting earlier this month.

Yemen's government on Monday ordered its forces to implement a cease fire in the southern provinces of Aden, Abyan and Shabwa in response to a call by the Saudi-led coalition, according to the Yemeni information minister, Moammar al-Iryani.

The withdrawal of Emirati forces drew derision from Saudi-allied intellectuals online. The kingdom, itself an autocracy, has a tightly controlled media that has whipped up nationalistic fervor since the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Prince Mohammed is thought to be very close to Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

In recent days, even the foreign minister of Bahrain, an island nation closely tied to Saudi Arabia, stepped into the fray to say on Twitter that the spilled blood of Emirati war dead "is not erased by statements that deny it."

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Houthis into the kingdom. The Houthis earlier said they launched 10 missiles. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained.

_______

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.

Displaced Yemenis receive food supplies provided by the World Food Programme, at a school in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. The U.N. humanitarian chief in Yemen warned last Wednesday that unless significant new funding is received in the coming weeks, food rations for 12 million people in the war-torn country will be reduced and at least 2.5 million malnourished children will be cut off from life-saving services. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) The Associated Press

Displaced Yemenis receive food supplies provided by the World Food Programme at a school in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. The U.N. humanitarian chief in Yemen warned last Wednesday that unless significant new funding is received in the coming weeks, food rations for 12 million people in the war-torn country will be reduced and at least 2.5 million malnourished children will be cut off from life-saving services. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) The Associated Press

Workers carry food supplies provided by the World Food Programme, for distribution in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. The U.N. humanitarian chief in Yemen warned last Wednesday that unless significant new funding is received in the coming weeks, food rations for 12 million people in the war-torn country will be reduced and at least 2.5 million malnourished children will be cut off from life-saving services. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers Nation and World News

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.