Families of fallen servicemen honoured by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed

The Crown Prince of Dubai has offered condolences to the families of four servicemen who died during Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed visited the families of Khalifa Saif Al Khatri in Ras Al Khaimah, First Warrant Officer Ali Mohammed Al Hassani in Al Ain, and the families of First Corporal Obaid Hamdan Al Abdouli and and Sergeant Khamis Abdullah Al Zeyoudi in Fujairah.

The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces announced their deaths on Wednesday. They were not initially linked to the Arab Coalition's operation in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, which launched the same day.

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Condolences poured in over Eid Al Fitr as people attended majlises for the bereaved.

In Al Ain, Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, visited the majlis for the bereaved of First Warrant Officer Al Hassani in Al Ain.

Families in the three emirates held open majlises for bereaved relatives, neighbours and high ranking officials over the weekend, including the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt General Hamad Al Rumaithi; the Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mohammed Al Bowardi; and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces,  Lt General Isa Al Mazrouei.

Sheikh Hamdan's Eid greetings on Twitter were sombre tributes to fallen soldiers. On Friday, he tweeted a variation of a traditional Eid greeting alongside an image of Wahat Al Karama, the UAE's national monument to fallen soldiers in Abu Dhabi.

He wished prosperity for Arab and Islamic peoples, and “our heroic soldiers, pride of the entire nation”.

Another Eid tweet by Sheikh Hamdan had three verses of poetry about soldiers killed in the line of duty. It was posted with an image of a soldier saluting a skyline that included the Burj Khalifa, the Aldar headquarters and the Quran statue at Sharjah’s cultural roundabout, as well as symbols of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, tweeted photos of Emirati soldiers who fought in Yemen being honoured by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai, to mark the occasion of Eid Al Fitr.

Military imagery has been incorporated into national celebrations following the Saudi-led Arab coalition intervention in the conflict in Yemen in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.