News / Persian Gulf

UAE ready to send ground troops to fight terrorists in Syria: Minister

Tuesday, 01 December 2015 6:50 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 December 2015 6:51 AM ]

Emirati State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its readiness to commit ground troops to the fight against 'terrorist groups' operating in Syria.

The UAE’s official WAM news agency quoted the Emirati State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash as making the announcement on Monday.

Gargash said the UAE was ready to “participate in any international effort demanding a ground intervention to fight terrorism.”

In the UAE’s first official reaction to Russia’s ongoing aerial campaign against Daesh positions in Syria, which was launched on September 30 following an official request from the Syrian government, Gargash said Moscow was targeting “a common enemy” by striking Daesh and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.

The UAE is among the countries participating in a US-led coalition that has allegedly been targeting Daesh in Syria since last August. The coalition has so far failed to uproot the militants, which have been carrying out attacks in the region as well as in Europe.

Over the weekend, US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham proposed the deployment of some 100,000 foreign soldiers, mostly from Arab countries, to fight Daesh terrorists in Syria.

The crisis in Syria, which started in March 2011, has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and left nearly half of the country’s population of about 23 million displaced.

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