News / Persian Gulf / Yemen

Yemenis call for boycott of UAE products in protest against aggression, crimes

Wednesday, 04 September 2019 3:40 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 04 September 2019 3:40 PM ]

This file picture shows a view of product range by Emirati company Al Ain Dairy – from fresh cow milk to yogurt and juices.

Yemeni activists and journalists have reportedly launched a boycott campaign of products produced in the United Arab Emirates to protest against the crimes and violations committed by the UAE, a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition of aggression against Yemen.

Abdullah al-Harazi, one of the founders of the "Boycott the UAE Products" campaign, told Arabic-language al-Khaleej Online news website that the initiative has achieved widespread attention on social media, and managed to awaken people to UAE abuses in Yemen.

He added that the campaign was launched through unofficial efforts, and seeks in the first stage to collect information about the most renowned Emirati companies, with the aim of preparing a list of their products to avoid causing any harm to other Arab or Islamic companies.

Harazi noted that the Yemeni nation has been enduring appalling hardship in the wake of the ongoing Saudi-led blockade and a severe shortage of medical supplies and equipment.

PressTV-Social media users launch 'boycott Saudi' campaign

Online activists and social media users in Arabic-speaking countries have launched a boycott campaign targeting Saudi products over Riyadh's war crimes in Yemen.

He described the situation in Yemen as the world's current worst humanitarian crisis, stating that children in some areas of the country have to eat leaves in order to survive.

Harazi went on to say that the campaign to boycott the UAE goods has attracted figures from Arab and Muslim countries, pointing out that the campaigners seek to encourage Arabs to stop buying Emirati products and using services offered by the country.

The Yemeni American Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights said in a statement on Sunday that it had documented 6,978 cases of grave human rights violations committed by militiamen backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against civilians in the southern Yemeni provinces of Aden, Abyan and Shabwah during the month of August.

أطلق المرصد اليمني الأمريكي لحقوق الانسان يطلق تقريرا حول انتهاكات مليشيا المجلس الانتقالي المدعومة اماراتيا بحق مدنيين وعسكريين في(#عدن، #ابين، و#شبوه) والتي بلغت (6978) انتهاكا خلال شهر أغسطس 2019#جرائم_الامارات_في_اليمن @YUH_observatory
— المرصد اليمني الامريكي لحماية حقوق الانسان (@YUH_observatory) September 1, 2019

An unnamed senior Emirati official told reporters on July 8 that the Persian Gulf country was planning troop draw-down in Yemen in what was claimed to be a shift from a military strategy to a "peace" plan instead.

PressTV-‘Emirati forces to stay in Yemen despite drawdown’

The UAE minister of state for foreign affairs says Emirati forces will not leave Yemen despite Abu Dhabi regime’s decision to reduce the number of troops in the war-torn country.

PressTV-'Saudi forces replace UAE troops in southern Yemen'

Saudi military forces have reportedly been deployed in two strategic Red Sea ports and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait after the UAE greatly reduced the number of its forces in Yemen.

In late June, Western diplomatic sources said the UAE was mulling scaling back its military efforts in the war in Yemen to focus on threats posed by the rising US-Iran tensions.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 91,000 lives over the past four and a half years.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

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