Yemeni president visits UAE to try to boost relations

DUBAI: Yemen’s exiled president yesterday visited the United Arab Emirates to meet Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the hopes of patching up relations between the two countries ahead of an anticipated assault on the rebel-held port of Hodeida, Emirati state media reported.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s trip to Abu Dhabi comes amid months of tensions between his forces and fighters backed by the UAE, which have clashed on a number of occasions. Both are part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.

The two sides were also at odds over the recent deployment of UAE forces to the Yemen’s Arabian Sea island of Socotra, a dispute mediated by Saudi officials.

More than 10 000 people have been killed in Yemen’s civil war. Briefs supplied by Reuters, AP, ANA-DPA, Daily Mail