Dera al-Watan forces avoid provoking UAE-backed factions in Aden

ADEN, July. 06 (YPA) – A leadership of the Saudi-formed Dera al-Watan Forces or “Shield of the Nation” issued on Thursday a statement to avoid any friction with the military components loyal to the UAE in southern and eastern Yemen.

The statement denied “the existence of any new recruitment operations carried out by the Dera al-Watan forces.”

The statement called for caution and not dealing with calls for recruitment or spreading incorrect news about opening recruitment operations in the ranks of its forces.

Observers believed that the statement issued by Dera al-Watan forces came as a calm to the UAE-affiliated factions, in light of the tense situation between the two parties.

Saudi Arabia has not stopped for nearly a year on recruiting fighters into the ranks of the Nation Shield Forces, as part of the intensive preparations being made by Riyadh to limit the UAE’s control over the regions of southern and eastern Yemen, according to activists from the coalition-controlled areas of Yemen.

Earlier, Abu Dhabi-backed armed factions had accused their counterparts loyal to Saudi Arabia of attracting leaders and recruits from the ranks of the military components affiliated with the Emirates, as the Nation Shield forces had managed during the past months to include a large number of officers and soldiers who were in the ranks of the forces loyal to the Emirates.

Since the beginning of 2022, Saudi Arabia has worked to establish the “National Shield Forces” from Salafist groups in the regions of eastern Yemen, before the pro-coalition “Presidential Leadership Council led by Rashad al-Alimi announced the official establishment of these forces in the last February.

AA