Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 27 June 2017
UAE military buildup draws scrutiny after Yemen allegations

CAIRO (AP) — With soc- the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War gets in Syria. Its contribution Number One Arab Ally,” sile strike on a base killed
cer sponsorships, record- expelling Iraqi forces from gained particular attention said Christopher David- over 50 Emirati troops, as
setting skyscrapers and Kuwait. for the role played by a fe- son of Britain’s Durham well as at least 10 soldiers
wintertime golfing, the from Saudi Arabia and five
United Arab Emirates has from Bahrain.Emirati forces
projected an image of were involved in a Jan. 29
comfort and opportunity Yemen raid ordered by U.S.
in a volatile region. But the President Donald Trump
quiet expansion of its mili- that killed a U.S. Navy SEAL
tary footprint is drawing a and 30 others, including
different kind of attention women, children and an
to the Gulf federation as it estimated 14 militants.
wades into some of the re- Last week, the AP docu-
gion’s messiest conflicts. mented at least 18 clan-
The Emirates flatly denied destine lockups across
allegations revealed in an southern Yemen run by the
Associated Press investiga- United Arab Emirates or
tion last week that its forces by Yemeni forces created
were running secret prisons and trained by the Gulf
inside Yemen where de- nation. Hundreds of men
tainees were tortured, call- swept up in the hunt for al-
ing it “completely untrue.” Qaida militants have dis-
The UAE is a key member of appeared into the prisons,
a Saudi-led military coali- where abuse is routine and
tion that is mired in a two- torture extreme — includ-
year stalemate against the ing the “grill,” in which the
Shiite Houthi rebels who An Emirati gunner watches for enemy fire from the rear gate of a United Arab Emirates Chinook victim is tied to a spit like a
control Yemen’s capital military helicopter flying over Yemen. The United Arab Emirates flatly denied allegations revealed roast and spun in a circle
and much of the country’s in an Associated Press investigation last week that its forces were running secret prisons inside Ye- of fire.Several U.S. sena-
north. It is also part of the men and torturing detainees, calling the report “completely untrue.” tors have called for inves-
U.S.-led coalition battling (AP Photo/Adam Schreck) tigations into reports that
the Islamic State group in Since then it has been male fighter pilot early in University.”They’ve had to U.S. military interrogators
Iraq and Syria, and backs gradually building up ex- the campaign. make deals with some un- worked with those forces.
a powerful general in east- perience and capabilities, And while its military only savory characters to pro- Defense officials told the
ern Libya who rejects a sending troops to Kosovo numbers in the tens of tect their flanks in places AP that the department
U.N.-backed government. as part of the NATO-led thousands, it spends a like Yemen, but in general had looked into reports
Last week the UAE joined peacekeeping mission whopping 6 percent of they’ve proven more deft of torture and concluded
other Gulf nations in a stun- there starting in 1999, and GDP on defense, allowing at keeping a cleaner im- that its personnel were not
ning move to boycott and special forces to Afghani- it to acquire advanced age than, for example, the involved or aware of any
partially blockade Qatar stan to support the U.S.-led weapons systems from Saudis,” he added. abuse.
The growing list of foreign war against the Taliban. France, Britain and the U.S. AFRICA
commitments is drawing Today, the UAE hosts West- The Pentagon said a new, YEMEN QUAGMIRE The UAE has been build-
increased scrutiny to the ern forces at its military 15-year defense coopera- The quagmire in Yemen, ing up a long-term military
federation of Gulf monar- bases, including American tion agreement signed in and the recent allega- presence in Eritrea at its
chies, which hosts some and French troops. Jebel May would “enable closer tions regarding detainees port in Assab, according
5,000 American military Ali port in Dubai serves as and more agile collabo- held by the UAE and its al- to Stratfor, a U.S.-based
personnel, as well as fighter the biggest port of call for ration against a range of lies, could undermine that private intelligence firm.
jets and drones. the American Navy out- threats.” image, especially as the Satellite images show new
side of the United States. “They’re trying to curry fa- bloody conflict shows no construction at a once-
THE BUILDUP vor with the U.S. by taking sign of being resolved. abandoned airfield the
The former British protec- CLOSE WESTERN ALLY on more and more roles The UAE has suffered the firm links to the Emiratis, as
torate merged the smaller The UAE was one of the in the region, to carve out most wartime casualties well as development at
forces of its seven sheikh- most prominent Arab their niche and emerge in its history in Yemen. The the port and the deploy-
doms into a national mili- members to join the U.S.- at the coveted position deadliest day came in Sep- ment of tanks and aircraft.
tary force that took part in led coalition striking IS tar- of being Washington’s tember 2015, when a mis- q
IS fighters launch counterattacks in west Mosul neighborhood

By BALINT SZLANKO Gen. Mohammed al-Kh- early May. draw away attention and The June 14 assault was
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Islamic odari.The attacks came “This is in line with tactics to show that they are still carried out by more than
State fighters launched a as Iraqi forces continue to we have seen previously strong,” said al-Khodari. 100 IS militants and killed 11
string of counterattacks in move in on the last pocket in Samarra (and) Anbar,” “This attack shows that Iraqi policemen and four
a western Mosul neighbor- of territory the IS militants he said. Both the Iraqi city they will soon be defeated civilians in clashes that last-
hood that had recently hold in the neighborhood of Samarra and the west- in Mosul.” ed hours.
been declared free of the known as the Old City. ern province of Anbar Earlier this month, IS Iraqi forces launched an
militant group, setting off Al-Khodari told The Associ- had been liberated of IS launched a large-scale operation to retake Mosul’s
clashes that continued ated Press that IS sleeper militants last year but have counterattack in Mosul Old City — the IS group’s
overnight, Iraqi officials said cells set fire to houses and seen occasional counter- that underscored the ex- last stronghold there — just
Monday. cars on Sunday afternoon attacks by the extremist tremist group’s resilience over a week ago, more
By daylight, the situation in the Tanak neighbor- group. in the city despite months than eight months after the
was calm and the fighting hood on Mosul’s far west- “When they sense defeat of heavy fighting with Iraqi fight to retake Iraq’s sec-
had subsided, according ern edge. The area was somewhere, they counter- forces backed by U.S. air ond-largest city officially
to army spokesman Brig. declared fully liberated in attack somewhere else to power. began. q