So far the missile attacks have produced few casualties in the UAE. There are several contingencies that could make this dangerous situation worse. Iron Dome was developed to address the missile threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel in the Trump administration, security ties between the two have progressed swiftly. There are also reports that the Emirates are considering purchasing the Iron Dome air defense system from Israel.
The French, who have a deepening partnership with the UAE, including their own presence at Al-Dhafra, are also offering Abu Dhabi military support against the new missile threat. troops, and a port call in the Emirati capital by the American destroyer the USS Cole (a ship attacked by al-Qaida in Yemen’s port of Aden in 2000). Washington has ordered additional American aircraft to Al-Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi, which hosts 2,000 U.S.
American air defense batteries fired Patriot anti-ballistic missiles at the incoming Houthi missiles at least twice. The UAE has hosted American military forces since 1990. Eighty percent of Yemenis live in the area controlled by the Houthi-dominated government in Sana’a (a coalition of parties and individuals in which the Houthi party Ansar Allah is preeminent). But the Saudis and Emiratis have been bombing Yemen for seven years without any diminishing in the Houthis’ military capabilities.Īs I wrote in a recent blog for a Brookings briefing book on nonstate armed actors, the Houthis have effectively taken control of the vast bulk of northern Yemen. The attacks on Abu Dhabi prompted a massive Saudi-Emirati bombing attack on the Houthis’ home city of Sadaa in which scores of innocent civilians died. The Houthis have long called for the destruction of Israel. One of the Houthi strikes came as Israeli President Isaac Herzog was visiting Abu Dhabi. The drone attacks have been claimed by a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia which has also hit Riyadh in the past. The missile attacks on Abu Dhabi have been accompanied by drones. The bulk of the target sites are in the Saudi provinces adjacent to Yemen but Riyadh has been hit multiple times.
The tempo has increased to 33 in the first nine months of 2021 from 14 attacks in the first nine months of the previous year. The Houthis have been firing missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia for years. These missiles are home-assembled in Yemen with the technical assistance of Iran and Hezbollah. In response to this tactical setback, the Houthis fired missiles at Abu Dhabi in January. In turn, the United Arab Emirates sent in a militia called the Giants Brigade, mostly composed of southerners, which it finances to drive the Houthis back. Last year, the Houthis seized parts of the neighboring province of Shabwa, to the south of Marib in what was formerly South Yemen. The battle for control of Marib, the last city in northern Yemen outside the Houthis’ control, spurred the recent escalation. Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
0 kommentar(er)
