An official in the government loyal to Saudi-led coalition confirmed on Thursday that the UAE has started moving the “ISIS” organization, in conjunction with Abu Dhabi’s arrangements for the so-called “fight against terrorism” after days of signing a formal agreement with pro-coalition ministry of defense.
Anis Mansour, an advisor at Yemeni embassy in Riyadh, said in a post on his social media that Emirati weapons had reached the group’s strongholds in Abyan, Shabwa, Seiyun and even Yafa.
The UAE handed over the “fight against terrorism” file to Mohsen al-Wali, who was serving as deputy governor of the so-called Yafa Emirate led by al-Mirfadi.
Al-Wali launched a recruitment of 6 brigades from Abyan under the name of “combating terrorism”, through which he aims to control the strongholds of his opponents in the central regions of Abyan.
The UAE’s move to ISIS comes in light of the escalating differences with Saudi Arabia, which move al-Qaeda, and this was highlighted by the escalation of bomb attacks against the UAE-backed Southern transitional Council (STC)’s convoys in Abyan during an attempt to strengthen its forces in Hadramout and Shabwa provinces.
The UAE is exploiting the conflicts between al-Qaeda and ISIS to achieve its agenda in Yemen, most notably weakening Saudi Arabia and justifying a long-term presence in this strategic resource-rich region.
ISIS might be a striking hand for the UAE against al-Qaeda and other parties opposing it, especially in light of the disparity in armaments, especially after the STC militia proved its failure to control the most important strongholds of the organization in Abyan.
