Page 9 - ATD 05September,2015
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Saturday 5 September 2015
United Arab Emirates says 45 of its troops killed in Yemen
AHMED AL-HAJ ware — though the gov-
ernment has never made
Associated Press clear the full extent of their
role or the numbers of
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — troops involved.
The UAE’s news agency,
Forty-five troops from the WAM, initially said 22 mem-
bers of the military were
United Arab Emirates were killed Friday but later report-
ed that 23 more had died
killed in Yemen while tak- of their wounds. It gave no
details on their role in the
ing part in Saudi-led opera- conflict. In a series of mes-
sages on his official Twitter
tions against Shiite rebels, feed, Sheikh Mohammed
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the
the Gulf nation said Friday, powerful crown prince of
Abu Dhabi and deputy su-
in the deadliest day for its preme commander of the
UAE armed forces, praised
military in its 44-year history. the troops for their sacrifice
and said the UAE would
The UAE’s minister of state continue to support the
Saudi-led campaign in Ye-
for foreign affairs, Anwar men.
“The sons of the UAE con-
Gargash, said the troops tinue to show resilience and
bravery in support of our
were killed when a rebel Yemeni brothers against
injustice and aggression,”
missile struck an ammuni- he said.The U.S.-allied Emir-
ates, a federation of seven
tion depot. On his official small Gulf states including
Dubai and the oil-rich capi-
Twitter feed, he said the tal of Abu Dhabi, is one of
the most prominent mem-
“cowardly attack will not bers of the Saudi-led co-
alition, which aims to roll
deter us.” back gains by the Shiite
rebels and their allies in the
Pro-government Yemeni deeply impoverished Ara-
security officials said the
missile strike took place Shiite Houthi rebels hold their weapons as they attend a rally to protest Saudi-led airstrikes, in
Sanaa, Yemen. Forty-five troops from the United Arab Emirates were killed in Yemen while taking
in the province of Marib, part in Saudi-led operations against Shiite rebels, the Gulf nation said Friday, in the deadliest day
for its military in its 44-year history.
about 120 kilometers (75
(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
miles) east of the capital
Sanaa. Officials from the
media office of the Shiite bian Peninsula country. The hundreds of fighters at a those loyal to Hadi as well
Saudi-led and U.S.-backed military base in Aden. as southern separatists and
rebel movement known as coalition, made up mainly The Houthi rebels took over local militias opposed to
of Gulf nations, has been Sanaa a year ago and soon the Houthis.Bahrain’s state
the Houthis confirmed they launching airstrikes against after swept over other parts news agency also reported
the rebels since March. of the country, driving Presi- Friday that five of its soldiers
fired a Soviet-era Tochka But the UAE is the only dent Abed Rabbo Mansour were killed while “defend-
country that has acknowl- Hadi into self-imposed exile ing the southern border of
missile in the area. The offi- edged having troops on in Saudi Arabia.The Houthis Saudi Arabia.” It didn’t give
the ground in Yemen in the are backed by army units specifics. Yemen is the only
cials spoke on condition of conflict. loyal to former President country on Saudi Arabia’s
Yemeni security officials Ali Abdullah Saleh, and southern border where
anonymity because they have said that Saudi, Emira- fighting has raged in mul- there is fighting, and Houthis
ti, Egyptian and Jordanian tiple parts of the country have frequently shelled
were not authorized to talk military advisers are training between those forces and across the frontier.q
to the press.
The deaths pointed to the
increasingly prominent
role of the Emirates on the
ground in Yemen’s war —
both in troops and hard-
Iraq’s top cleric demands real steps in fighting corruption
QASSIM ZAHRA government announced a have gone missing in the 12 as trials for corrupt officials, People “have long suffered
Associated Press package of reforms follow- years since Saddam Hus- economic reforms and in- from corruption” and they
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s top ing large rallies in Baghdad sein’s regime was toppled. frastructure improvements. want “this mission to be
Shiite cleric said on Friday and other provinces pro- Prime Minister Haider al- “One of the essential steps implemented without pro-
the government must start testing endemic corrup- Abadi’s plan, which includ- for reform is to hunt the big crastination and delay,”
hunting the “big heads” as tion, sectarian politics and ed eliminating the coun- heads among the corrupt said the representative,
part of its anti-corruption shabby basic services. try’s three vice presidencies and hold them account- sheik Ahmed al-Safi.
drive, calling for “convinc- Graft is widely believed to and three deputy prime able, to retrieve all the sto- “Quick action and real,
ing and assuring steps” as be rampant in Iraq, and es- ministers as well as other len money,” Grand Aya- convincing and assuring
proof of the government’s timates based on findings posts, was immediately ap- tollah Ali al-Sistani said in steps are needed to show
seriousness in implement- from an anti-corruption proved by parliament. remarks delivered through that the officials are serious
ing its highly-touted reform commission and govern- But changes widely de- a representative during in implementing reforms,”
plan. ment reports show hun- manded by Iraqis have the Friday sermon in the re- he added.q
Last month, Iraq’s Shiite-led dreds of millions of dollars not yet materialized, such vered Shiite city of Karbala.
