The UAE has redeployed troops in Yemen as it seeks to move from a military outlook to a focus on the peace process, after partial successes of a political agreement for the port city of Hodeidah late last year.
"We do have troop levels that are down for reasons that are strategic in Hodeidah and reasons that are tactical" elsewhere in the country, a senior UAE official said on Monday.
"It is very much to do with moving from what I would call a military-first strategy to a peace-first strategy."
The official said the move was in co-ordination with other coalition allies supporting the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
He said there was little concern of a power vacuum because the UAE had supported, supplied and trained 90,000 Yemeni government fighters who “fought with valour and distinction”.
The official declined to discuss the details of the redeployment because of ongoing military engagement, but he said troop numbers were “definitely down” and equipment had been moved.
The official said that while the decision was not because of increased tensions with Iran, the regional situation could not be ignored.
“We are very much putting all our eggs in the basket of the Stockholm agreement,” the official said.
He was referring to the deal reached at UN-backed talks in December 2018 for rebel and government forces to pull back from the vital port city of Hodeidah.
The official said the government was focused on ensuring all residents of the UAE were safe after several tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman.
With existing defences – from troop levels to Patriot and Thaad missile-defence systems and continuous dialogue with allies – the country was well-protected from missile and drone attacks and other threats, the official said.
The current Iran tensions are concerning but the UAE “is not trigger happy” and is seeking to de-escalate the situation as much as possible.
The UAE wants Iran to moderate its behaviour before there can be substantive talks, but is also clear that there must be regional voices in any new discussions, as a major problem with the 2015 nuclear deal had been the lack of local participation.
“Jumping from the current abyss to talks is a fallacy, propagandist at best," the official said. "We don’t reject talks but there needs to be the right soil."
Critical to any future discussions will be a long-term solution to Iran’s regional interference and its nuclear enrichment.
Tension with Iran has increased in recent months after Tehran said it would stop complying with the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Its announcement was made a year after the US pulled out of the deal and imposed strict sanctions on Tehran.
The official said that in Yemen, the UAE had achieved many key objectives.
More territory had been liberated than was held by the Houthis, he said, and the rebels were not expanding their area of control.
The government of Yemen is secure and has improved capacity and the UAE helped to undermine Al Qaeda’s operations and control in the country, eroding their ability to stage global attacks or be a “premier” terror franchise.
Maritime traffic in the area around Bab El Mandeb is secure and Iran's influence in the country has been challenged.
Also key were the many humanitarian successes, despite the scale of suffering caused by the five-year conflict.
The UAE provided $5.59 billion (Dh20.53bn) in aid to Yemen between April 2015 and June 2019, assisting 17.2 million Yemenis in every governorate of the country – including Houthi heartlands such as Saada.
More than $550 million had been spent on aid operations in Hodeidah governorate, with most going to emergency food assistance.
The UN has said that Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with millions on the brink of famine and deadly illnesses such as cholera resurgent.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Book%20Details
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