UAE reducing troops, switching strategy in Yemen

The UAE on Monday (July 8th) said it was reducing the number of troops in Yemen and moving from a "military-first" strategy to a "peace-first" plan, AFP reported.

"We do have troop levels that are down for reasons that are strategic in al-Hodeidah and reasons that are tactical" in other parts of the country, a senior UAE official said.

"It is very much to do with moving from what I would call a military-first strategy to a peace-first strategy, and this is I think what we are doing," the official said.

UAE troops fighting as part of the Arab coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) have "totally vacated" the military base in Khokha, about 130 kilometres south of al-Hodeidah, a Yemeni government official said Monday.

He said the UAE withdrew part of its heavy artillery from Khokha but was -- along with the Arab coalition and the Yemeni government -- still overseeing the military situation on Yemen's western coast.

The Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said UAE troops vacated a military post in Sarwah, west of Marib province, and pulled back the Patriot missile system from the area.

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