On Monday, January 24, the United Arab Emirates intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by Yemeni Houthi rebels, a week following a deadly attack carried out by these insurgents once morest the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi. The Emirates are members of the military coalition under Saudi command engaged in 2015 in the civil war between the Houthis and the government in Yemen since 2014.
“Air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis terrorist group once morest the Emirates”, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “The attack caused no casualties, and the debris of the destroyed missiles fell in different places around Abu Dhabi”, he added.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces will reveal in the coming hours the details of a military operation carried out in depth in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia”, said Mohammed Aboulsalam, spokesman for the Houthis.
Member of the Saudi coalition engaged in Yemen
The Emirates have so far lived as an oasis of peace in the Middle East. But since a first attack on January 17, the country has been forced to recognize Houthi incursions within its borders. The Yemeni rebels then claimed responsibility for a first deadly attack once morest Abu Dhabi: drones and missiles directed once morest oil installations and the airport killed three people.
The coalition then carried out a series of airstrikes, including once morest the rebel-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. One of the air raids killed 14 people in Sanaa, and at least three children were killed in an attack on Hodeida (west), through which passes most of the international aid intended for the country. The coalition, on the other hand, denied any responsibility in a strike once morest the prison launched on Friday January 21 before dawn which also injured more than 100 in Saada, the rebel stronghold in northern Yemen.
Coalition and rebels indicted for war crimes
In more than seven years of war, all parties to the conflict in Yemen have been accused of “war crimes” by UN experts. Implicated for multiple abuses, the coalition has recognized “errors” and accuses the rebels of using civilians as human shields.
The UN has been trying in vain for several years to end this devastating conflict which, according to it, has killed 377,000 people and pushed a population of 30 million to the brink of large-scale famine.
