UAE soldier killed in anti-Houthi operation in Yemen

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - One soldier from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was killed in violence-wracked Yemen while taking part in a Saudi-led military campaign against the Shia Houthi militant group, Emirati military officials said Friday.

According to a statement issued by the UAE Armed Forces Command, the soldier was killed while taking part in "Operation Restore Hope", which is currently being waged by a Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Houthis and their allies in Yemen.

The army statement did not, however, disclose the precise reason for the soldier's death.

In a separate statement the same day, the UAE Armed Forces Command announced the death of a second soldier -- due to a heart attack -- in Yemen.

No additional details were given about the two deaths, which brought the total number of UAE soldiers killed in Yemen so far this month to three.

The UAE is an active member of Saudi Arabia’s anti-Houthi coalition, which in 2015 began a wide-ranging air campaign against the Shia militant group and its allies.

In 2014, Yemen’s Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing members of the country’s pro-Saudi government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

Two rounds of subsequent UN-backed peace talks have failed to resolve the conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed and an estimated three million forced to flee their homes.