Sources close to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan say that Emirati officials are seeking to hold talks with their Ugandan counterparts relating to a troop deployment to Yemen. The crown prince is said to have approached Uganda about deploying at least 8000 troops to Yemen to replace the Sudanese troops who are on the verge of withdrawing from the Saudi-led coalition in the Gulf of Aden country.
The source said that the UAE wants the help of the Ugandan soldiers because it fears that Sudan will withdraw its forces from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the strategy hasn’t been coordinated in advance with Saudi Arabia.
The UAE plans to use Ugandan forces to reinforce its military operations in Yemen, a Yemeni Intelligence operative reports while another 2000 to be deployed to Somalia.
On the other hand, Uganda has denied the possibility of such a deployment as there is an ideological difference seeing as the UPDF troops are mostly pan-African driven. Moreover, the Sudanese troops are said to be withdrawing from Yemen because of increased casualties, and as such, it would not make any sense for Uganda to expose its troops to the same.
Security officials in Uganda have, therefore, vehemently denied the possibility of a troops deployment to Yemen especially a huge contingent because there isn’t immediate interest and or benefits for her. Yemen has been struggling with Al Qaeda and Houthi rebels who seek to topple the current regime supported by former Yemeni president.
