ZCZC
BFF-33
YEMEN-CONFLICT-UAE
UAE says 6 troops killed in ‘military collision’
DUBAI, Sept 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The UAE, a key member of the Saudi-led
coalition fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen, said Friday six of its soldiers
were killed in a “collision of military vehicles” while on duty.
It did not specify if the men died in Yemen, where tens of thousands of
people — most of them civilians — have been killed in the country’s years-
old conflict between pro-government forces and the Iran-aligned rebels.
The armed forces announced “the martyrdom of six of its valiant soldiers
as a result of a collision of military vehicles while carrying out their
national duty in an operations field”, state news agency WAM reported.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 on the side of Yemeni
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
In July, Abu Dhabi announced a troop drawdown in Yemen, a move that many
saw as an attempt to limit its losses amid escalating regional tensions with
Tehran.
The war in Yemen, which the United Nations calls the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis, has driven millions to the brink of famine.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2005HRS