The Houthis Hit Abu Dhabi

 

The war in Yemen is not really escalating. It is a low intensity conflict that is not going anywhere but is now spreading here and there. The latest is a missile and drone attack against Abu Dhabi which is in the United Arab Emirates or the UAE. The UAE does not have a land border with Yemen and they are also removed from the hostilities in Yemen.

So why did the Shia Houthis hit Sunni Abu Dhabi on Monday (or so the Houthis claimed) which caused some oil tank farms to explode and burn, they hit the Abu Dhabi airport and three people were killed (two Indians and a Pakistani).  

The strike was a retaliation by the Houthis against the UAE for meddling in the war in Yemen. The UAE supplies guns and money to some armed groups to fight in Yemen. Strangely the UAE arms these groups not only to fight the Houthis but to also fight other groups that are also fighting the Houthis. 

For example the UAE funded "Giants Brigade" - a local Yemeni Sunni outfit - also fights another local Yemeni Sunni group called the Al Islah. So the Giants Brigade fights both the Shia Houthis and the Sunni Al Islah.

The Sunni Al Islah also fights against not only the Shia Houthis but also against the Sunni Giants Brigade. 

The Sunni Al Islah in turn is funded, trained and armed by the Sunni Ikhwan Muslimin or Muslim Brotherhood, the militant octopus, which also has branches in Turkey (Erdogan's AKP Party) and in the Gaza (Hamas). The Muslim Brotherhood was originally founded in Egypt where it is also banned as a terrorist outfit and many of its leaders there are now in jail.

Although Sunni the Muslim Brotherhood is of course violently opposed to Saudi Arabia and the UAE - both of which are monarchies. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to completely destroy these Arab monarchies. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have banned the Muslim Brotherhood and have labelled them a terrorist organisation. (By the way our 'ambassador-at-large' to the Middle East is friendly with the Muslim Brotherhood and is not liked much by the Saudis).

So what is happening in Yemen is that the whole lot of the Sunni side ie Saudi Arabia, UAE, Al Islah, Muslim Brotherhood  are being stared down by the Shia Iranians who are funding and arming the Shia Houthis. 

This war in Yemen is therefore a proxy war for the political survival of the Saudis, the UAE, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Ayatollahs in Iran which really has very little to do with the Yemeni people. So far over 100,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed in the genocidal bombing of their country by the Saudis and the UAE (until a few years back).  They have died for no good reason.

Recently the UAE funded Giants Brigade has stepped up their attacks against the Houthis near Maarib. So to teach the UAE a lesson the Houthis (so they claimed) sent drones and missiles to attack the UAE (Abu Dhabi). This was a clear warning shot.

My reading is because this is a proxy war and a low intensity conflict (the Saudis are not moving troops in battalion strength, they are using mercenaries and irregulars while the Houthis are also using irregulars and local militias) no decisive territory has been won by either side. 

The Houthis (Iran backed) for example are happy to see the Sunni Giants Brigade fight the Muslim Brotherhood's Al Islah and wear each other down. 

Iran is also happy to see Saudi Arabia get more bogged down in Yemen (it has been seven years now with no end in sight to the fighting) and Iran can keep the Houthis armed indefinitely. 

The war is going badly for Saudi Arabia. They have lost billions of dollars in arms and equipment destroyed in Yemen. Schools and towns in provinces along the  Saudi-Yemen border have been closed and evacuated for SEVEN years now. 

What should we do?

We should mind our own business. This has nothing to do with us. 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.