UAE serviceman part of Saudi-led coalition dies in Yemen

The United Arab Emirates has confirmed the death of an Emirati serviceman fighting in Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition.

The general command of the UAE Armed Forces announced that Sultan Mohammed Ali Al Ketbi lost his life while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen, official news agency WAM reported.

The UAE and other Arab countries have seen casualty numbers grow in recent months as they intensify their offensive against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In September, at least 50 soldiers from the UAE, 10 from Saudi Arabia, five from Bahrain and four from Yemen were killed after a Houthi rocket hit an ammunition depot in Yemen’s Marib province.

Coordinated attacks by militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Levant also killed almost 22 people including four UAE soldiers in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition began conducting air strikes against Houthi rebels in March in a bid to restore Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government in the country.

In addition, the coalition has also provided material and military support to factions within the country fighting the Houthis.

Despite incurring heavy casualties, the UAE has reiterated that it will continue its operations in Yemen.

Last month, at a reception organised for the first batch of Emirati troops returning from Yemen, UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum told Abu Dhabi TV: “I would like to say to the Yemeni people that we will stand by them to restore the legitimate government. As soon as the legitimate government is restored our troops will return to their barracks [in the UAE].”