GARGASH: AL QAEDA IN YEMEN IS WEAKER THAN EVER

▶ International counter-terror strategy and local knowledge prove effective

Al Qaeda in Yemen is weaker than it has ever been as the UAE’s military training and counter-terrorism operations continue, Dr Anwar Gargash said yesterday.

“Our fight with regards to extremism and terrorism is basically at the core of foreign policy and we don’t look at this simply as a Yemen issue, because the issue of terrorism is a major problem, not only in the Arab world but beyond,” the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs told reporters in Dubai.

The UAE continues to work with Yemenis to help eliminate terrorist strongholds but has limited its presence on the front lines. It hands responsibility to local soldiers it has trained.

The country intervened, as part of the Arab Coalition, on behalf of the internationally recognised government of Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to fight the Iran-backed rebels.

The Houthi insurgency in 2014 and 2015 allowed Al Qaeda to fill a power vacuum and gain ground in the east of Yemen.

Brig Gen Musallam Al Rashedi commanded the UAE special operations task force in 2015 and 2016.

Brig Al Rashedi said yesterday that despite gains, the battle against Al Qaeda in Yemen required the continued support of the Yemeni people.

“You can’t kill your way to victory against Aqap [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] in Yemen with drones and raids,” he said at the Dubai briefing. “The secret to winning is in the hearts and minds of the people of Yemen, which will allow us to win this forever.”

The UAE, as part of the Arab Coalition and in co-ordination with the US, has trained about 60,000 Yemeni fighters to battle the terrorist group. They are able to combine local knowledge and methods with counter-terrorism strategy.

By training tribes and militias who know the areas where the terrorists have the most influence, the UAE has been able to introduce strategies that have proved more effective, Brig Al Rashedi said.

The task force has killed about 1,000 core members of Al Qaeda, including 13 of the 18 most wanted leaders.

He said the terrorist organisation is so compromised that it is unable to export its ideology to the region, let alone maintain its presence in Yemen.

“We are denying them the oxygen, so to speak, to exist,” Brig Al Rashedi said. “Most importantly for everyone outside Yemen, we have hampered their ability to export terrorism. They can’t go anywhere to conduct their operations.”

The UAE’s goal, he said, was to cut off supply routes and recapture strongholds, and to maintain control of those areas and stop militants returning.

“They key is to have the Yemenis do it themselves,” Brig Al Rashedi said. “We can’t stay in the long haul in Yemen. They won’t do it if we don’t win their hearts and minds, at the grassroots and government level. They have to step up and do it.”

Al Qaeda’s presence in the Arab world’s poorest country has resurfaced twice in the past 10 years, both at times of political instability.

Dr Gargash said the UAE backed a political solution in Yemen, which would be sought during peace talks in Geneva on September 6.

But he was dubious of the Houthis’ intent, saying they were likely to hamper efforts.

“We still believe the main obstacle to a political solution is the Houthis,” he said. “They have undermined all the previous initiatives by refusing to pull out militias and heavy weapons from urban centres to start the political process.”

The UAE and the Arab Coalition recently ceased its military offensive on Hodeidah, an important port city still under rebel control, to allow UN special envoy Martin Griffiths to negotiate.

The Arab Coalition says it adhered to the ceasefire to support the political process, which continues to be its ultimate goal, and to limit the humanitarian cost of the battle in Yemen’s largest port city.

More than 600,000 residents remain in Hodeidah, where men have been forcibly conscripted by the Iran-backed rebels or coerced to co-operate with the Houthis.

Dr Gargash said the Houthis used the ceasefire to further embed themselves in the city by digging trenches and putting militias among the civilian population. He said the coalition’s approach to the offensive, “was sensitive and I would say at our own cost”.

“We could have done this very quickly in terms of a quick operation, but we understood this is a population of 600,000 and we are not going to be drawn into a street-to-street fight,” he said.

The UAE continues to apply pressure on Hodeidah, believing that further compromising the Houthis position will bring better results in the peace talks.

Dr Gargash said that the humanitarian toll of the civil war has always been a heavy factor in weighing battle plans.

“I accept the coalition is criticised for some of the humanitarian weights of this war, but all parties need to accept their part in what we are doing,” he said. “Having said that, we are doing what we can to support the humanitarian’s situation in Yemen.

“I also urge various friends and NGOs and others in the international community to scrutinise the details of the Houthis.

“Look at the million mines planted by the Houthis. Look at the large mobilisation of child soldiers. Look at the indiscriminate attacks on Saudi cities.”