The UAE has played a significant part in the growing victory in the fight against Al Qaida in southern Yemen. Its forces have been a key part of the military successes, but just as important has been the UAE’s commitment to getting immediate short-term aid to where the suffering Yemeni people need it, and also the long-term task of rebuilding civil society. The UAE consistently demonstrated these skills in the July 2015 recapturing of Aden, which was followed by retaking of Mukalla this April and then in last month’s success in Abyan province.
The UAE is a major partner in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which supported the Yemeni army in this month’s success in liberating the entire coastal province of Abyan from Al Qaida and its allies in Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) after more than five years of lawlessness and terrorist control of the province. The militants had exploited Yemen’s lack of effective government and the subsequent civil war to expand their sway in south Yemen.
The UAE and its allies backed the Yemeni army with heavy aerial support as they advanced to oust the militants and once they won back effective control of the territory, the UAE lost no time in getting aid to the people through Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), which launched several humanitarian missions, like getting vital supplies of basic foodstuffs and clean water to Al Mahfad in the interiors of Abyan.
The military success in Abyan follows the April recapturing of the vital Hadramout port of Mukalla from Al Qaida, as well as the town’s airport and oil terminal and large swathes of surrounding territory. The operation had been planned for six months between the coalition and Yemeni forces from Hadramout and the final assault included more than 20,000 soldiers, including naval and air force backing from the coalition. Subsequent operations focused on restoring security at the city and the port and rebuilding conditions for normal life to resume.
The fighting to restore legitimate rule in south Yemen has been overshadowed by the continuing civil war in the north where the coalition is also deeply committed. It is just as important to root out the terrorists from their bases and bring Yemen’s coastal territories back to orderly government so that some measure of calm, normal business and social life can restart.
