The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry on Monday confirmed that it destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis, according to a statement it released to news agency WAM. It also said that the fragments of the missile fell in unpopulated areas and there were no casualties in the incident.
The defence ministry of the UAE further said that it remains ready to deal with any threats and will continue to take strong measures to ensure that the UAE remains protected from any such attacks in the future.
January saw a rise in the number of Iran-backed Houthis attacks targeting the UAE. Earlier this month, a drone attack led to several injuries and three deaths along with damage to property at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. The UAE intercepted a missile headed towards it a week later. With Monday’s confirmation from the Emirati officials, this is the third attack the Shia insurgents have launched in the UAE.
The UAE is a part of the nine-Gulf nation coalition which supports the Yemen government against the Houthi insurgents. The coalition is led by Saudi Arabia and gets support from many western powers like the US and France but international experts see Yemen’s civil war as a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Yemen, meanwhile, suffers a humanitarian crisis with poverty and hunger affecting most citizens of the nation.
The UAE also released a video later confirming that it has destroyed a Houthi missile launcher in Yemen. “UAE MOD Joint Operations Command announces at 00:50 UAE time the destruction of a platform for ballistic missile(s) launched from Al-Jawf, Yemen towards UAE. Missile was intercepted at 00:20 by air defences. Video of successful destruction of missile platform and launch site,” WAM tweeted citing the nation’s defence ministry. News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The UAE also said Houthi attacks on the UAE will not be the ‘new normal’. “This is not going to be the new normal for the UAE. We refuse to acquiesce to the threat of Huthi terror that targets our people and way of life,” a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
The Houthis believe that the UAE and Saudi Arabia have bowed down to Israel and the western powers like the US. The attack also comes hours before Israel president Isaac Herzog is scheduled to visit Dubai in a first official visit after both nations normalised relations.
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