The Houthis Did Not Threaten to Target UAE Following Sudan Escalation
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Social media users recently circulated a claim that the Houthi movement warned it would strike Burj Khalifa and major cities in the United Arab Emirates as a response to the war in Sudan.
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Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be fake. The Houthis made no such statement following the RSF take-over.
Fake Statement Attributed to Houthis
Misbar’s team searched through the official social media outlets of the Houthi movement and found that no such statement was made.
The latest X post by Saree was on October 16, predating the el-Fashar fall by 10 days.
A search of the Houthis’ official spokesperson Yahya Saree’s X posts using the Arabic keyword “UAE” returned no results.
The official X account of the Yemeni Military Media did not publish any threats against the UAE recently. The latest X post it made about the UAE was in December 2023.
Furthermore, no credible media outlet reported the statement either.
The Houthis have targeted commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and launched missile and drone attacks toward Israel since it began its war in Gaza in October 2023.
Israel, in turn, has carried out repeated strikes inside Yemen, hitting civilian areas and infrastructure, including residential sites and the country’s main international airport, and has killed dozens in single attacks. Last month, Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf killed dozens of people, including journalists and children.
UAE’s Support to the RSF
In a recent statement by the Human Rights Watch, the organization has reiterated concerns about the United Arab Emirates’ role in backing Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of committing mass atrocities in Darfur.
According to the organization, despite the RSF’s record of widespread killings, ethnic cleansing, and other grave abuses, U.N. experts and international media have reported that the group has continued to receive military assistance from the UAE.
Human Rights Watch and France 24 previously documented RSF fighters using weapons that were once in the possession of the UAE military. International and Colombian media indicate that a UAE-based company recruited former Colombian soldiers to train and fight alongside RSF forces in Darfur.
Human Rights Watch also verified social media videos showing Spanish-speaking foreign fighters engaged in battles in el-Fasher, further supporting claims of foreign involvement.
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