In this photo made available by the Emirates News Agency, WAM, Emirati people wave the national flag as a convoy of UAE military vehicles and personnel travels from Al Hamra Military Base to Zayed Military City, marking the return of the first batch of UAE Armed Forces military personnel from Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. (Ryan Carter/Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi/WAM via AP)
The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Friday that his comment that “war is over” for Emirati soldiers in Yemen had been taken “out of context.”
“We are at war. I am appalled that my statement was taken out of context and misinterpreted for (an) external agenda that seeks to undermine the region,” Gargash said, state-run WAM news agency reported.
We remember, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, quoted Anwar Gargash on Wednesday in Twitter:
“Our standpoint today is clear: war is over for our troops; we’re monitoring political arrangements, empowering Yemenis in liberated areas”
— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) June 15, 2016
However, an Arabic version of his comments was worded ifferently from the English one, saying the war is “practically” over.
أنور قرقاش : موقفنا اليوم واضح فالحرب عمليا انتهت لجنودنا ونرصد الترتيبات السياسية ودورنا الأساسي حاليا تمكين اليمنيين في المناطق المحررة
— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) June 15, 2016
The Arabic statement left open the likelihood that UAE troops would remain in Yemen, where they operate as a part of the Saudi-led coaltinio forces.
On Monday, a UAE military helicopter crashed near the al-Buraiqeh coast of the Yemeni port city of Aden. Two pilots died.