Fri 30 August 2019:
The United Arab Emirates said it carried out air raids against “terrorist militias” in southern Yemen as the UN-recognised government accused the UAE of killing and wounding hundreds of people in the attacks.
“Precise and direct air strikes” on Wednesday and Thursday targeted the militias, said the UAE’s foreign ministry in a statement late Thursday.
The armed groups planned to target the Saudi-led military coalition – of which the UAE is a key member – backing the Yemen government against the Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen, it said.
The UAE acted in “self-defence” after attacks by “armed groups affiliated with terrorist organisations”, the ministry said.
“The military operation against the terrorist militias was based on confirmed field intelligence that the militias prepared to target the coalition forces – a development which required a preemptive operation to avert any military threat,” it said.
“Accordingly, the coalition responded as per their right of self-defence to protect the security of their forces,” said the statement carried by the Emirates’ official WAM news agency.
The foreign ministry did not identify the “terrorist militias” it targeted.
The statement came hours after Emirati-backed separatists on Thursday regained control of Aden – the Yemeni government’s de facto capital – forcing government troops who entered the city a day early to withdraw.
The government on Wednesday said it had seized back Aden from separatists who captured the strategic city on August 10 after a fierce battle that killed dozens.
Southern divide
Abu Dhabi has trained and supported secessionists who seek an independent southern Yemen, despite being a key pillar in the Saudi-led coalition backing the government against the Houthi rebels.
“All Aden governorates are safe, now we’re dealing with some pockets and terrorist hideouts, which are sadly involved with what is called the legal government,” said Nizar Haitham from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the separatist group supported by the UAE.
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi called on Saudi Arabia to intervene to stop what he called UAE interference and support for the separatists.
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