ADEN // Residents of Taez say they are counting on the Saudi-led coalition to liberate them from a siege by Houthi rebels, and on the UAE in particular to restore normal life in a city devastated by months of fighting.
Supported by coalition air strikes, the city is being defended by the Popular Resistance formed to counter the Iran-backed rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa last September and have overrun large areas of the country.
“I do not trust any side to free Taez from the Houthis, only the coalition forces,” said Tareq Al Malah, an employee of the education office in the city, the capital of Taez province.
"I think they will do so soon, but I hope the Emirates then rehabilitates the city so we can resume our regular life," he told The National.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have played leading roles in the coalition, which is seeking to restore the government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi. Mr Hadi – who relocated his government to Riyadh after the Houthis advanced on his temporary capital in the southern port city of Aden in late March – on Thursday visited Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in Abu Dhabi to discuss the latest situation in his country.
Mr Hadi praised the UAE’s support and humanitarian work for Yemenis under the leadership of President Sheikh Khalifa, and noted that the Emirati stance and sacrifices in Yemen had raised the spirits of its people, the state news agency Wam reported.
Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE believed its security was inseparable from that of the region and other Arab countries.
“We will support our brothers strongly in the face of any plan aimed at destabilising the security and stability of our countries, as well as preserving our Arab identity,’’ he told Mr Hadi.
Since beginning its campaign in late March with air strikes, the coalition, resistance fighters and loyalist units of the Yemen army have managed to drive the rebels out of Aden and other southern provinces, as well as Marib province adjoining Sanaa. The capital however remains in the hands of the Houthis and allied renegade units of the army loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The fighting in Taez began in April when the rebel forces entered the province under the pretext of fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL. The provincial capital has since been a battlefield where many public institutions, private businesses and homes have been destroyed in heavy fighting. Most of the city’s residents have fled to rural areas, including Mr Al Malah who fled his home in the Al Masbah area in May for his family village in Al Shimayateen about 70 kilometres away.
However, hopes have been raised after the coalition and resistance fighters recently ousted the rebels from other areas of Taez province, including the port city of Dhubab. Residents of Taez say they hope the same scenario that played out in Aden will be repeated in their city.
The UAE has led efforts to restore normal life in Aden after it was liberated from the rebels in mid-July, securing the port to allow a resumption of trade, rebuilding and reopening hospitals and schools, and restoring power supply.
“If the Emirates will come to help us we are willing to fight and we will give all of our efforts to make the Emirates take over Taez,” Mr Al Malah said.
He is not also the only Taez resident hoping for UAE help. Ameen Saeed, 63, lost not only his home but also his only source of income when his two-storey house, which was near the Houthi headquarters in Taez, was destroyed in June by an air strike. He used to live on one floor and rent out the other.
"I do not have any source of income but this house. Now I need two million riyals [Dh34,000] to rebuild it, and this is very difficult for me," Mr Saeed told The National. I built the house 30 years ago when I was working as contractor but now I am retired and do not have money to rebuild it."
He said he hoped that the UAE would rebuild his house and others destroyed by the war.
The spokesman for the resistance in Taez, Rashad Al Sharabi, told The National that they were working in steps and their first goal before the rehabilitation of the city was to eject the Houthis from the entire province.
Pro-government forces are now preparing to advance on the port city of Mokha, where the Houthis are being bombarded by coalition aircraft and warships.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Wam
