Leaders’ Eid greetings mark the sacrifices of the UAE’s martyrs
The Crown Prince of Dubai has offered condolences to the families of four servicemen who died during Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid visited the families of Khalifa Al Khatri in Ras Al Khaimah, First WO Ali Al Hassani in Al Ain, and First Cpl Obaid Al Abdouli and Sgt Khamis Al Zeyoudi in Fujairah.
The General Command of the Armed Forces announced their deaths on Wednesday. The deaths were not initially linked to the Arab Coalition’s operation in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, which was launched on the same day.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, tweeted photos of Emirati soldiers who fought in Yemen being honoured by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to mark Eid Al Fitr.
Condolences poured in over Eid Al Fitr as people attended majlises for the bereaved. In Al Ain, Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, visited the majlis for First WO Al Hassani yesterday.
Families in the three emirates held open majlises for bereaved family, neighbours and high-ranking officials over the weekend.
They included the Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mohammed Al Bowardi, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Hamad Al Rumaithi, and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Isa Al Mazrouei.
Sheikh Hamdan’s Eid greetings on Twitter were sombre tributes to fallen soldiers. On Friday, he tweeted a variation of a traditional Eid greeting alongside an image from Wahat Al Karam, the national monument to fallen soldiers in Abu Dhabi.
He wished prosperity for Arab and Muslim people, and “our heroic soldiers, pride of the entire nation”.
Another Eid tweet by Sheikh Hamdan had three verses of poetry about soldiers killed in the line of duty.
It was posted with an image of a soldier saluting a skyline that included the Burj Khalifa, the Aldar headquarters and the Quran statue at Sharjah’s cultural roundabout.
Military imagery has been incorporated into national celebrations after the Saudi-led Arab Coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.