UAE Sends Troops To Bahrain, Joining GCC Forces
The United Arab Emirates dispatched troops Monday to take part in preserving order and security in Bahrain. The UAE force joins 1000 Saudi Arabian troops that a Saudi official said earlier today that his country also sent to the island nation.
Troops from the GCC Peninsula Shield Force have started arriving to Bahrain in light of the current unrest the kingdom is currently witnessing. The GCC, or Gulf Cooperation Council, is a political and economic union involving six Arab states of the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“The move is in line with the principle of common destiny bonding GCC states, which indicates that safeguarding security and stability across the GCC region is a collective responsibility,” according to Bahrain state news agency BNA.
It also follows the decisions taken by the GCC Foreign Ministers during their most recent meeting in which they voiced their un-wavering support for the kingdom, according to BNA.
“On this occasion, the Bahrain Defence Forces (BDF) calls upon all citizens and residents to cooperate fully with the GCC forces and welcome them warmly,” BNA said.
“The move is in response to a request from the Kingdom of Bahrain for assistance and in contribution to maintaining security and stability”, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gergash was quoted by BNA as saying. “The United Arab Emirates affirms that this step represents a lively embodiment of its commitment to brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).”
“It is also evidently expresses that the regional security and stability at this time requires us all to unite our ranks to protect achievements, keep sectarian strife away as well as to lay foundations for the future”, Gergash said in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). “This is based on the United Arab Emirates’ belief in the solid historic relations, fraternal ties, kinship and common destiny that the Arab GCC member states share. It also comes in light of the sublime principles which the GCC charter established, affirms the commitment of GCC member states to close ranks against any dangers facing them and considers the stability and security of GCC member states as one indivisible whole and also as a commitment to conventions and defence and security treaties,” he added.
Gergash pointed out that the United Arab Emirates followed with concern the developments in Bahrain, citing particularly the national dialogue initiative launched by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, according to BNA.
The UAE urged all Bahraini parties to respond positively and without prior conditions to initiative so as to defuse tensions, overcome the current crisis and find viable solutions for Bahrain people’s achievements to be protected.