EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS: American Mercenaries Hired by UAE to Kill in Yemen | BBC News

   

Jan 23, 2024 #Yemen #BBCNews

American mercenaries, hired by the UAE to kill in Yemen, have spoken candidly on camera for the first time in an investigation by BBC Arabic. At a time when Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have highlighted the international dimensions of the Yemeni conflict, the investigation also reveals how US mercenaries trained Emirati officers to kill the UAE’s political enemies in Yemen. These extra-judicial killings, conducted in the name of counter-terrorism, started in 2015 and continue to this day. #Yemen #BBCNewsBBC Arabic's Nawal al-Maghafi reveals how the UAE hired mercenaries to conduct targeted assassinations of its political enemies in Yemen, with American mercenaries starting the killings in 2015. . .Leaked drone footage of the first assassination mission gave me a starting point from which to investigate these mysterious killings. It was dated December 2015 and was traced to members of a private US security company called Spear Operations Group.

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Nawal Al-maghafi نوال المقحفي on X: "Our latest doc AMERICAN MERCENARIES: KILLING IN YEMEN is out tomorrow. For the first time on camera, former US special forces describe

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has funded politically motivated assassinations in Yemen, a BBC investigation has found, exacerbating a conflict involving the Yemeni government and warring factions which has recently returned to the international spotlight following attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Counter-terrorism training provided by American mercenaries to Emirati officers in Yemen has been used to train locals who can work under a lower profile - sparking a major uptick in political assassinations, a whistleblower told BBC Arabic Investigations.

The BBC has also found that despite the American mercenaries' stated aim to eliminate the jihadist groups al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) in southern Yemen, in fact the UAE has gone on to recruit former al-Qaeda members for a security force it has created on the ground in Yemen to fight the Houthi rebel movement and other armed factions.

The UAE government has denied the allegations in our investigation - that it had assassinated those without links to terrorism - saying they were "false and without merit".

The killing spree in Yemen - more than 100 assassinations in a three-year period - is just one element of an ongoing bitter internecine conflict pitting several international powers against each other in the Middle East's poorest country.

The deadly atmosphere has discouraged the permanent return of Yemen's internationally recognised government. This, it could be argued, has indirectly helped to embolden the Iran-backed Houthis - currently in the news for attacking ships and disrupting trade in the Red Sea. In recent days, Washington has announced that it will now re-designate the group as "global terrorists".

I have been reporting on the conflict in my native Yemen since it began in 2014. The fighting led to the government losing control of the country's north to the Houthis - who over the years have become savvier and better equipped.

In 2015, the US and the UK supported a coalition of mostly Arab states led by Saudi Arabia - with the UAE as a key partner - to fight back. The coalition invaded Yemen with the aim of reinstating the exiled Yemeni government and fighting terrorism. The UAE was given charge of security in the south, and became the US's key ally on counter-terrorism in the region - al-Qaeda had long been a presence in the south and was now gaining territory.