Following the third consecutive Monday of strikes against the UAE, on 31 January the leader of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Mashhat, gave orders to intensify the resistance campaign.
Mashhat ordered the Yemeni Armed Forces to “redouble” their efforts and in undertaking “deterrent operations” against aggressors on Yemen.
On 17 and 24 January Yemen’s forces launched several airstrikes against targets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in operations codenamed Hurricane Yemen 1 and 2.
The retaliatory strikes came in response to the UAE’s aggression on Yemen, particularly in the provinces of Shabwa and Marib, where Abu Dhabi has made use of Takfiri armed groups to take control of the oil-rich region.
Mashhat, who is also the Commander of the Yemeni Armed Forces, congratulated the Yemeni resistance, including its missile and air force, for their successful operations, which forced a temporary shut down of the UAE’s main airport.
The latest airstrikes on the UAE came as Israeli President Isaac Herzog was visiting Abu Dhabi following the Emirates’ September 2021 establishment of official diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
Mashhat said that Operation Hurricaine Yemen had achieved its goals of striking the depths of the UAE and came in response to Abu Dhabi’s “aggression and seige on the Yemeni people.”
He added that the Ansarallah movement “had previously warned that the continuation of aggression, siege, and attempts to occupy our country would pose risks to the economy and investment in the UAE, and we confirm today that the follow-up of the three weekly operations express our ability and determination to implement what we warned of, until the UAE abandons its aggression, siege and occupation of […] our country.”
In addition, Mashhat emphasized that the operation proved that the US and Israel could no longer ensure the safety and protection of their allies and accomplices in the aggression against Yemen.
