- Official confirms the redeployment is part of the repurposing of the UAE troops
- Priority of UAE changing from combat to peace official says
DUBAI: The UAE has begun an operation redistributing its troops in Yemen for “strategic and tactical” reasons, Al Arabiya has reported citing an official, who added that the move had been coordinated with coalition ally Saudi Arabia.
The move is part of the UAE’s plans to move from a “military first strategy to a peace first strategy” the official added.
“Our discussion over our redeployment has been ongoing for over a year and it has been heightened after the signing of the Stockholm agreement in December,” the official said.
“It makes a lot of sense for us to redeploy away from Hodeidah. By connection, Assab in Eritrea has also been affected because it was a staging ground for our operations in Hodeidah,” the official said, adding that troop movements in other areas of Yemen are “tactical and based on our needs.”
Local UAE press also quoted the official as saying UAE troop numbers were “definitely down,” adding that there had been a movement of equipment.
And an official told Reuters that member countries of the Arab Coalition were playing different roles and would contribute whatever capabilities they could.
“The United Arab Emirates... and the coalition countries continue to achieve their operational and strategic goals and reach the final status of restoring the legitimate Yemeni government,” Col. Turki al-Maliki said.