UAE-backed gunmen kill 5 after storming Yemen mosque

Gunmen from a security force backed by the UAE have stormed a mosque in the southern Dhale province, killing at least five people, Yemeni security officials said on Sunday.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

09 June, 2019

Tribal leaders in the district condemned that attack. [AFP]

Gunmen from a security force backed by the UAE have stormed a mosque in the southern Dhale province, killing at least five people, Yemeni security officials said on Sunday.

The attackers, who belong to a group called the Security Belt, kidnapped three others, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

Tribal leaders in the district condemned that attack and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

The Security Belt force says in a statement the dead were Houthi rebels who refused to surrender.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels since 2015.

Concerns have been raised surrounding the UAE's intentions in the south, where it has built a solid link of alliances and established control over major cities, especially Aden.

The Emiratis boast several bases in the coastal city where the country's forces operate all military activity, including training local men-turned-soldiers.

In 2017, an investigation by the Associated Press and Human Rights Watch revealed that the UAE was running a network of informal detention centres in southern Yemen where hundreds of people were detained and tortured.

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