Emirati minister: War in Yemen over for UAE

By Ramazan Turgut

RIYADH (AA) – A top government official said Thursday that the war in Yemen has ended for the UAE, with a post-war process starting even now.

Speaking at a conference about the coalition, UAE, and the Yemeni crisis, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Qarqash said, "The war in Yemen ended for the UAE and Operation Decisive Storm has reached its goals. A political process including providing political stability, meeting the demands of the country by legitimate government, and regaining control has begun"

Qarqash added that the operation saved many Yemeni cities from Houthi insurgents and cleared Al-Qaeda militants from the city of Al Mukalla.

Qarqash stated that Houthis carried out a coup using the weapons of the state they seized and that several clans and external powers supported this coup, emulating the Iranian revolution.

Some 80 Emirati soldiers were reportedly killed during Operation Decisive Storm.

The majority of these Emirati soldiers were killed in a ballistic missile attack against the Safir Military Base in the Yemeni city of Ma'rib last September.

Operation Decisive Storm began in March 2015.

Two Emirati helicopters were also downed during the operation in recent weeks.

Yemen has been racked by chaos and bloodshed since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

In April, the Yemeni government and the Houthis entered into UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait aimed at resolving the conflict, in which more than 6,400 people have been killed and another 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Can Erozden contributed to this report from Ankara.