Turkey: UNSC Must Remind UAE of Duty to International Law
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The UN Security Council must remind the United Arab Emirates (UAE) it is bound by international law against “destructive and malicious policies” in the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey told the international body.
Turkey’s ambassador to UN Feridun Sinirliogu accused the UAE of embarking on a campaign to stifle democratic movements in the region, citing Abu Dabi’s “excessive ambition” to dominate the wider region “resulted in nothing but human suffering.”
The UAE is a part of a Saudi Arabian-led coalition that launched military aggression against Yemen, killing and injuring tens of thousands of civilians, including men and women.
“UAE’s actions amounted to war crimes, causing mass civilian casualties and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure through airstrikes,” Sinirlioglu said in a letter to the Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Turning to Libya, Sinirlioglu said Abu Dabi is supporting renegade commander Khalifa Haftar and wants to oust the legitimate UN-recognized Government of National Accord.
“The same military playbook used in Yemen was also applied here, by bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure and cooperating with extremist, radical groups,” said the Turkish envoy.
He said the UN also recorded systematic violations of an arms embargo by the UAE and deployment of mercenaries from Syria, Sudan, Chad and other nations to Libya.
The UAE “must respect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of other states and it must stop instigating instability in the region and beyond,” Sinirlioglu added.