A Yemeni official denied today, Friday, that the UAE has ended its military presence in his country, calling on Abu Dhabi to stop arming militias in the south and support the legitimate government.
"The world is a small village thanks to the media, and everyone knows that you (referring to the Emirates) are still in Yemen," said the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information in the Yemeni government, Muhammad Qaisan, on Twitter.
The Yemeni official’s statement came in response to the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash’s announcement on Thursday that his country has ended its military presence in Yemen.
And Gizan added: Withdraw your soldiers from Socotra (southeast), Balhaf (in Shabwa governorate / south), and Mayon (island / west), and stop arming the militias.
Qayzan also called on the UAE authorities to sincerely support the legitimacy and the Yemeni government.
The Emirati Minister Anwar Gargash said on Twitter that his country ended its military intervention in Yemen last October, minutes after the administration of US President John Biden announced the end of his country's military support for the Yemeni war.
Oh Dr. Gargash @ AnwarGargash The world is a small village thanks to the media and everyone knows that you are still in # Yemen, withdraw your soldiers from # Socotra, # Balhaf, # Mayon, stop arming militias, support legitimacy and the Yemeni government sincerely, the world is changing and it is not in your interest to antagonize the people # Yemeni @ POTUS @SecBlinken @PressSec @VP https://t.co/jR0U2jkLES
- Muhammad Qaisan (@mohgezan) February 4, 2021
Yemeni officials usually accuse the UAE of seeking to divide Yemen and control its south in order to control its wealth and influence the vital ports, and arming forces parallel to the legitimate government.
However, Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied these accusations, and confirmed that its military presence is to support the legitimacy of the Yemeni government in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis.
The UAE is the main partner in a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen since March 2015 in support of the pro-government forces in the face of the Houthi group.
For the seventh year, Yemen is witnessing a war that the United Nations says has claimed the lives of more than 233,000 people, and 80% of the population of about 30 million people have become dependent on aid to survive, in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the description of the United Nations.