UAE officer killed in Yemen

The death of Sultan Mohammed Ali Al Ketbi was announced by the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces on Monday.

An Emirati officer has died while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s operation near Taez, in Yemen.

The General Command of the Armed Forces announced on Monday the death of Sultan Al Ketbi, along with a Saudi officer, Abdullah Al Sahian.

According to Reuters, dozens of other Arabian Gulf, Yemeni and Sudanese coalition soldiers were killed in the Tochka rocket strike on the Red Sea army camp.

The officers were killed at dawn on Monday “while they were carrying out their duties in supervising operations to liberate Taez” province in Yemen’s south-west, the official SPA news agency said.

A Yemeni officer told the AFP news agency both officers were killed when rebels fired a rocket at a coastal road in the strategic province, which overlooks the Bab Al-Mandab Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.​

A source in Hadi’s forces told Reuters that a rocket had been fired at coalition forces in the Dhubab area, north of Bab al-Mandab and south-west of the city of Taiz, adding that “tens were killed” in a camp that houses Yemenis, Sudanese, Emiratis and Saudis.

The deaths come ahead of Tuesday’s expected peace talks.

The Houthis and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s former political party, the General People’s Congress, are sending representatives to Switzerland on Tuesday for talks with Yemen’s internationally recognised government under President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

A week-long extendable ceasefire is scheduled to come into effect on Monday to coincide with the talks. However, two previous attempts at ceasefires failed following accusations of breaches by both sides.

Saudi Arabia, along with Arab allies, led a military campaign in March to stop the Iran-backed Houthis from taking complete control of Yemen after they seized the capital Sanaa last year.

The campaign has succeeded in retaking the southern port city of Aden and the northeastern city of Marib but has failed to oust the Houthis from Taez or end attacks on the Saudi border.

Western countries backing the coalition have expressed concern at the humanitarian cost of the war, which has resulted in more than 5,000 people dead and has pushed the Yemeni people to the brink of famine.