UAE has not changed stance on Yemen

The coalition is successfully fighting terrorist organisations and has destroyed their plan to establish a stronghold in Al Mukalla city.

The UAE has not changed its stance on Yemen and is "fully committed" to the Arab coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia, a diplomatic source has said. The country's redeployment of forces is "strategic" in Hodeida and "tactical" in other areas, he stressed. It is in line with the Stockholm Convention. He added that the UAE has trained the Yemeni forces who have been "our most effective force and play an essential role today".

"The coalition is successfully fighting terrorist organisations, especially Al Qaeda and Daesh, and has destroyed their plan to establish a stronghold in Al Mukalla city," the source said. "Most importantly, we have denied them access to resources and funds coming from oil and ports."

He explained that the UAE's armoured vehicles that were in Sudan have been handed over as part of Khartoum's role in the coalition.

Referring to Libya, the official said the UAE supports the call for a ceasefire. The death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli has reached 1,000. The source added that "much of what has been published" recently about the UAE's intervention is "misrepresenting our position as the country fully complies with the 1970 and 1973 United Nations Security Council resolutions on sanctions and arms embargoes".

Some "media campaigns" seek to undermine the country's image in front of the Arab public by spreading rumours, the source added.

The official added: "We have played a very constructive role in helping achieve the political transition and will support it going forward."

The source concluded by saying that the UAE supports peaceful transition and political solutions.