UAE martyr: Al Dhaid pays homage to its beloved son

Sharjah: The UAE pays great attention and care to martyrs and their families, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said while offering condolences to the family of martyr Lieutenant Colonel Sutlan Mohammad Ali Bin Huwaiden Al Ketbi, as he visited his family home in Al Dhaid on Tuesday.

Shaikh Mohammad, accompanied by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, extended his sincere condolences and sympathy to the family and prayed to Allah to bestow his mercy upon him and rest him in eternal peace.

Shaikh Mohammad reaffirmed his pride in the UAE Armed Forces’ personnel and Emirati youth who sacrificed their lives in defending justice and their Yemeni brethren. He reiterated that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, pays great attention and care to martyrs and their families.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people poured into the town of Al Dhaid to offer condolences to the Al Ketbi family. Among the visitors were His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah and Shaikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Colonel Al Ketbi was laid to rest in Al Dhaid on Monday evening following a huge funeral meeting that saw an outpouring of grief and emotions from relatives, friends and community members. The funeral prayers were held at Ammar Bin Yaser mosque.

The 43-year-old father of eight was killed by a missile attack by Al Houthi rebels that also caused the death of Saudi Arabia’s Colonel Abdullah Al Sahyan in Bab Al Mandab, south-west Yemen.

Hailing from a family attached to the military, Colonel Al Ketbi’s father Mohammad Bin Huwaidan is a retired army officer, while his three brothers are currently serving in the UAE Armed Forces and his 16-year-old son is training at a military school.

“Sultan was an inspiration for all of us. He was a leader of the community, on the field, at home, everywhere. He made friends wherever he went and won hearts,” said Saeed, a childhood friend of Colonel Al Ketbi.

Reminiscing his days with his friend, Saeed added: “We went to school together, here in Al Dhaid. He was different from others from the start. He always had high ambitions and wanted to do something great for the community and the country. I think he achieved his goal, there is no bigger achievement than martyrdom.”

According another friend Abdullah, Colonel Al Ketbi always led from the front and showed the way to others.

“He showed to all of us that with a good heart, discipline, determination and hard work can achieve. A lot of his relatives and community members joined the armed forces and chose other big careers with the encouragement and support of Sultan,” said Abdullah Al Ketbi, a cousin and friend of Colonel Al Ketbi.

Whenever Colonel Al Ketbi visited his town, people flocked to him.

“He had a golden heart and his kindness touched everyone in the community. He has done a lot for everyone. Even expatriates living in the town knew him and would come to him seeking help. If he personally could not help someone, he would gather community members and raise funds for those in need, such was his passion for charity,” said Huwaidan Mohammad Al Ketbi, younger brother of Colonel Al Ketbi.

Apart from his activities that covered raising funds for the needy and building mosques and digging wells, Colonel Al Ketbi was also passionate about education and sports.

“Sultan was fond of sports from a very young age. He always asserted the importance of being healthy. He was a disciplined and focused person, and he wanted others to also have these attributes. He recently started a project to build a horse-riding facility in the neighbourhood, which is still incomplete. He also launched schemes for community members to pursue higher education,” said Saeed, Colonel Al Ketbi’s friend.

He added that the martyr’s pleasing personality left a mark on everyone he met.

“His job required him to visit a number of countries and he made friends wherever he went. We were surprised to receive a lot of condolence messages from the UK, the US and Australia, which shows how popular he was,” added Saeed.