UAE announces officer’s martyrdom
Al Ketbi was supervising operations to liberate Taiz province in Yemen
The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces yesterday announced the martyrdom of Sultan Mohammad Ali Al Ketbi, while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen.
A top Saudi commander Colonel Abdullah Al Sahyan was also martyred along with the Emirati officer while they were carrying out their duties in supervising operations to liberate Taiz province in Yemen’s southwest. Al Ketbi was buried last evening after funeral prayers at Ammar Bin Yasser mosque in Al Dhaid.
Yemeni security officials say heavy fighting was under way between the forces of the country’s internationally recognised government and Al Houthis, hours ahead of the start of an agreed-on weeklong truce.
The martyrdom of the Saudi and Emirati officers ahead of the ceasefire led to hashtags on social media condemning the killings. Bloggers said this was further proof of the need to complete the coalition’s mission in Yemen and bring the legitimate government back to power.
Some said that the martyrdom of the Emirati and Saudi soldiers together was a testament to the bond between the two countries.
Yemen’s warring factions were set to observe a ceasefire starting last night, the government said, despite growing signs of mutual mistrust on the eve of UN-brokered peace talks.
The truce announcement came as the Arab coalition that has been leading the war against Iran-backed rebels since March said a senior Saudi commander and an Emirati officer were martyred during operations in Yemen.
A lull in fighting is sorely needed in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest nation, where an estimated 80 per cent of the population requires humanitarian aid.
The Saudi-led coalition and Al Houthi rebel forces have yet to say if they will abide by the ceasefire agreement, despite reassurance last week by the UN envoy that Riyadh had promised to pause its aerial assault during talks.
Mueen Abdul Malek, a member of the coalition-backed government’s delegation at peace talks, said that the ceasefire will start at midnight local time (2100 GMT). “We hope the militias will commit to the ceasefire this time,” he said, referring to Al Houthis.
A presidency official confirmed the truce was agreed by President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Yemen’s UN envoy Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad.
Yemen’s conflict has pitted local forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of Hadi’s government against the Al Houthis and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Previous UN efforts have failed to narrow differences, and past ceasefires haven’t held.
The government said last week that the ceasefire, coinciding with open-ended talks beginning at an undisclosed location in Switzerland today, would last seven days and is renewable.
Reports of the truce were overshadowed yesterday by the death of Saudi Colonel Abdullah Al Sahyan and Emirati officer Sultan Al Kitbi, who died while supervising operations to liberate the southwestern Taiz province, according to a coalition statement.
Fierce fighting between the rebels and pro-Hadi forces continued yesterday in the southern Daleh province, witnesses said.
Both pro-Hadi forces and insurgent groups have traded barbs over each side’s willingness to stick to the truce.
And there has been no word from Saleh or his General People’s Congress party, which is represented at the Switzerland talks.
The warring sides have agreed to talks despite protracted differences, including over UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls for rebels to withdraw from key cities and
The United Nations says more than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen, about half of them civilians, and more than 27,000 wounded since March.
surrender their weapons. The government and its Gulf allies say the resolution is a prerequisite for peace.
According to the UN envoy, talks will focus on four main areas, including the terms of a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of armed groups from areas they control.
Al Houthis, who have long complained of marginalisation, advanced in September 2014 from their northern strongholds before occupying government buildings in Sana’a.
They later encroached on second city, Aden, forcing Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Hadi returned last month and declared Aden his provisional capital.
Under cover of coalition warplanes and backed by Arab soldiers and heavy weaponry, pro-government forces have recaptured four southern provinces, as well as Aden, since July.
The United Nations says more than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen, about half of them civilians, and more than 27,000 wounded since March.