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The international airport of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the nearby industrial zone of Mussafah received two separate attacks on Monday that have been claimed by the Houthi rebels of Yemen. The attacks, carried out with missiles and drones, left three dead and six injured. The Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and of which the UAE is a part, bombed Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, in response.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi airport, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the nearby Mussafah industrial zone. This was confirmed in a televised speech by Yahya Sarea, military spokesman for the Houthis, who last week already threatened the UAE for supporting a paramilitary force in Yemen.
“Yemen’s Operation Cyclone targeted Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports and the Mussafah refinery, as well as a large number of important and sensitive Emirati sites and facilities,” he said. Sarea threatened to expand the attacks to all the countries that make up the Arab Coalition that has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen since 2015.
“We will not hesitate to expand the (attack) targets to include more important sites and facilities over the next period,” he warned the Saudi-led coalition, which is the main supporter of the internationally recognized legitimate government in Yemen.
An attack with drones and “ballistic missiles”
The Emirati police initially reported two fires that caused the explosion of three fuel tanks in the industrial zone of Mussafah and in the area under construction of the airport in the Emirati capital.
Later, through the official news agency, WAM, the police reported that preliminary investigations indicated “the detection of small flying objects, possibly drones, that fell in the two areas and that could have caused the explosion and the fire” and that as a result there were three deaths and six injuries.
The Houthi military spokesman himself later confirmed the use of “five ballistic missiles and a large number of drones” in the operation. The UAE assured that “it reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and this sinister criminal escalation” committed “on the sidelines international and humanitarian law”.
UN Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the attacks and recalled that “international humanitarian law prohibits attacks against civilians and against civilian infrastructure.” Guterres insisted that “there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen”, so the parties must achieve a “political process in view of a global and negotiated settlement”.
Arab Coalition Response
After hearing the news, many countries of the Arab Coalition condemned the attack while supporting their ally. Among them, Saudi Arabia itself, Bahrain, Kuwait and Morocco, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab Parliament.
The most forceful response came with the bombing of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. “In response to the threat and military necessity, we have started to carry out airstrikes in Sanaa and are targeting terrorist leaders north of the capital,” the coalition said in a statement carried by the Saudi news agency, SPA.
The Yemeni agency, Saba, controlled by the Houthis, however, stated that the bombardments would have left four civilians dead after hitting a private residence. The EFE agency assures that witnesses informed them of impacts against military barracks belonging to the Houthis.
Previously, the United States had assured that it would work with its international partners to hold the Houthis “accountable” after the attack on the UAE. “Our commitment to the security of the UAE is unwavering and we stand by our Emirati partners in the face of all threats to their country,” said Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser Joe Biden.
More than seven years of war
The Yemen War began in 2014, when the Houthi rebels staged a coup against President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, internationally recognized and who came to power after the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after the so-called Arab springs. After 21 years in power, the Houthis recognized him as the legitimate president.
At that time, the independence groups in southern Yemen and other actors such as Al-Qaeda were also important groups in the conflict. It was in 2015 when the Arab Coalition was created that entered the conflict in support of Hadi with the excuse that the Houthis are supported by Iran. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are today the main international actors in the conflict.
A United Nations report published in November 2021 assures that around 377,000 people have died in Yemen as a result of the conflict. Around 60% would have done so due to indirect consequences such as lack of water, hunger and disease.
With EFE and local media.
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