Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
The UAE, on Wednesday, denied what media reports stated about its participation in discussions with the US regarding a plan for a potential ground offensive against the Houthi group in Yemen.
This came in a statement by Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, who described those reports as “strange and baseless allegations” in a special statement to Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal had reported in an article last Monday that Abu Dhabi was urging America to carry out a ground offensive against Houthi-held areas in Yemen, amid Saudi reservations about participating in it.
The newspaper said that “the UAE has raised the idea of invading Houthi-controlled areas by land with the US in recent weeks, according to US and Yemeni officials.”
It added that “US is open to supporting a ground campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, and that a final decision on this matter has not yet been taken.”
The newspaper affirmed that “the Saudis have informed the Yemenis and Americans that they will not join or contribute to any ground action in Yemen, fearing the damage that ballistic missiles and drones might cause as a result.”
It pointed out that “discussions about a ground operation come at a time when US is considering options to reduce its air strikes in Yemen.”
Since March 15th, the US has targeted locations in Yemen with hundreds of air raids, resulting in the death of 123 civilians and the injury of at least 247 others, the majority of whom were children and women, according to data from the Houthi group.
