Houthi’s attack on UAE

The UAE installations have come under foreign attack for the first time in history. This is not only surprising but also a shock to the cathedral of businesses in the region. The fact that Yemen’s Houthi rebels reportedly conducted drone attacks deep inside the UAE, hitting the adjoining areas of Abu Dhabi Airport, is quite unnerving. It seems to be a bizarre act of escalation on the part of Iranian-backed rebels, who now apparently are flexing their muscles to attain nefarious designs.

Subsequently, tensions are on the rise as the Saudi-led coalition struck the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, which led to more than a dozen casualties. This is certainly in retaliation to the drone attacks on the UAE, and hints at the posture of escalation. This conflicting trend is reprehensive and must be tackled with utmost diplomacy. There are also reports of more drone attacks on Saudi assets by the Houthis, and is obviously a point of high concern.

Reports confirmed by the UAE authorities say that a drone attack was carried out, which sparked an explosion. The presence of oil tankers in the vicinity led it into a huge ball of fire, killing at least three expatriate workers and injuring many more. While the theatre of attack was an extended area of Abu Dhabi Airport, which also houses oil terminals, the proportion of damage is yet to be estimated.

Such incidents are unprecedented in the oasis of development, as the UAE believes in a cohesive and cooperative developmental synopsis. The incident should not only be condemned but it should also be made sure that such ignominious non-state actors are nailed in the bud, and their sponsors are categorically warned of dire consequences.

This daredevil attack on the UAE’s territory has come at a crisscrossed moment. The US forces stood withdrawn from Southwest Asia, and the UAE too had taken a backseat in the Saudi-led war against the Houthis in Yemen. Moreover, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh had recently opened a new vista of cooperation with Tehran, and things seem to be heading towards a normalising pattern. Thus, this severe security-laden hiccup is in need of being investigated, as it is quite possible that technological peculiarity may have been utilised to bring the UAE in a possible war frame. This necessitates finding a lasting solution to the conflict in Yemen.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2022.

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