![An excavator helps rebuild a road destroyed by a tropical cyclone in the Hadramaut provincial capital of al-Mukalla on November 6th, 2015. Since the ouster of al-Qaeda in 2016, the UAE has been helping to restore infrastructure damaged in storms and in the fighting. [AFP PHOTO/STR]](/cnmi_am/images/2017/08/04/9022-Yemen-Mukalla-excavator-700_496.webp)
Support provided by the UAE to the Yemeni province of Hadramaut has helped local authorities enforce security and provide critical services, Yemeni officials told Al-Mashareq.
The success of the UAE's elite forces in expelling al-Qaeda from the provincial capital of al-Mukalla has been instrumental in the restoration of public services, said Hadramaut deputy governor Mohammed al-Amoudi.
An aid ship carrying 14,000 tonnes of supplies from the UAE docked at al-Mukalla port on July 8th to support humanitarian efforts in Hadramaut province.
"The people of Hadramaut appreciate the support of Arab coalition countries, especially the UAE, both in liberating al-Mukalla from al-Qaeda’s control and for the role they play in providing assistance," said al-Mukalla directorate head Abdul Baqi al-Huthari.
The UAE Red Crescent has provided continuous support to the services sector in the areas of electricity, water, health and education, he told Al-Mashareq.
This has enabled the local authorities to provide residents with better services than those other provinces are receiving, he noted.
Al-Mukalla has seen an improvement in the security situation since al-Qaeda's ouster last year, and also an improvement in the delivery of services, al-Huthari said, thanks in large measure to the UAE's support.
But further assistance is needed to repair the city's infrastructure, which was devastated by hurricane-force winds in 2008 and subsequent conflicts, he said.
Some parts of Wadi Hadramaut have received relief aid from the UAE Red Crescent, Hadramaut deputy governor Abd al-Hadi al-Tamimi told Al-Mashareq.
But the inland area still suffers from poor-quality services in comparison to the Hadramaut coast, he said, which has had "an adverse effect on the performance of local authorities in these areas".
There also has been intermittent al-Qaeda activity in some areas of Wadi Hadramaut, he added, noting that the "presence of al-Qaeda cells and their occasional attacks are an impediment to donors".
Ambulances delivered to Shabwa
In Shabwa province, "the UAE Red Crescent distributed humanitarian aid to a number of directorates", said Shabwa deputy governor Nasser al-Qamishi.
This includes three ambulances that were delivered to three districts in the province towards the end of the holy month of Ramadan, he told Al-Mashareq.
Humanitarian aid also has reached the Azzan area of Shabwa province, said Mayfaa local council secretary-general Yaslam Bajnoub.
The security situation has stabilised in Azzan since al-Qaeda was expelled from the area last August, he told Al-Mashareq, adding that residents are now awaiting the implementation of development projects.
"Shabwa has not seen the implementation of projects in the electricity, water, health and education sectors, as has been the case in neighbouring provinces," he said, noting that improved security would facilitate the arrival of assistance.
"Curbing lawlessness is at the top of the security agencies’ priority list," Security Belt Forces commander Brig. Gen. Khaled al-Azmi told Al-Mashareq.
Sporadic al-Qaeda attacks have had a negative impact on the plan to rehabilitate Shabwa's services sector and on the flow of in-kind aid to the residents of the province, he added.
