An in-depth investigation carried out by the New York Times, has revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has secretly sent some soldiers from the Latin American country, Colombia, to fight in the ongoing civil war in Yemen.
The soldiers were recruited by the UAE to fight in Yemen. In exchange for their service, the soldiers receive an attractive financial package. It is said this package is motivating some Colombian serving soldiers to quit the army and join the war in Yemen.
According to the newspaper, it is the first combat deployment for a foreign army that the Emirates has quietly built in the desert over the past five years. The United States has also been fingered in the investigation for working in collaboration with the Emirati military to provide combat mission training to the mercenaries.
In March 2015, a political power struggle between Yemen’s incumbent president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and Houthi rebels backed by soldiers loyal to the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, descended into a civil war.
Many observers have said the war is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudis have the backing of many Sunni nations in the Gulf, including the UAE. The United States also supports the Saudi alliance.
The Houthi rebels, who are considered to be a major threat to Saudi’s influence in the region, have the backing of Iran. However, the Iranians have not directly intervened in the conflict. They have only been providing weapons and other logistical support to the Houthi rebels.
This action of recruiting mercenaries to fight in the war, is said to have added more chaos to the situation in Yemen. According to the United Nation, 5,604 people, including 2,577 civilians, have died since the conflict began in March. Many people have also been displaced, and the majority of them are making their way to Europe as refugees.
The Colombian mercenaries were said to have been handpicked from a brigade of about 1,800 Latin American soldiers who were training at an Emirati military base. The UAE recruited this brigade from Colombia, Chile, Panama, and El Salvador, but decided to first test the might of the Colombians due to their experience in fighting guerrilla warfare with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel group which has been fighting the Colombian government since 1964.
So far, close to 500 mercenaries have been deployed to Yemen by the Emirates. Those who were initially left behind, are now being trained to use grenade launchers and armored vehicles that are currently being used by the Emirati troops. The United Arab Emirates has many special troops fighting in Yemen.
The Times revealed that the Emiratis have spent millions of dollars equipping the unit. They have provided firearms, armored vehicles, communications systems, night vision technology and other military hardware that the mercenaries need in order to do the job in Yemen.
A senior Colombian military officer who used to work on the project, revealed that the 1,800 Latin American soldiers are receiving salaries ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 a month. The mercenaries that have been deployed to Yemen, are paid an additional $1,000 per week. He also added that many Colombian troops have been trained in the Emirates since the project began in 2010. In addition, he also said the Colombian government is fully aware of what is going on, and has even tried to sign a formal agreement with the Emirati government to regulate the conduct of soldiers joining the war in Yemen, but that has not materialized.
Back home in Colombia, retired soldiers told the Times that the money being paid by the Emiratis is just too irresistible to the soldiers. As a result, the opportunity has motivated them to quit their positions as military officers in Colombia.
Jaime Ruiz, the president of Colombian Association of Retired Armed Forces Officials, said: “These great offers, with good salaries and insurance, got the attention of our best soldiers. Many of them retired from the army and left.”
In September 2015, a single rocket attack by the Houthi rebels killed 45 coalition troops, the majority of which were from the Emirates. As a result, the Emiratis vowed to take full revenge by fighting in Yemen until the Houthis are annihilated, and President Hadi is brought back to power.
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