UAE mourns death of soldiers after 3 years of military intervention in Yemen

DUBAI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Thursday to fly the national flag at half-mast to honor soldiers who lost their lives in service of the country.

All flags of public and private buildings were flown at half-mast from 8 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., with a minute of silence observed at 11.30 a.m., local time.

"Today, all of us across the nation stand tall to mourn our loyal martyrs ... they did not leave us but will stay in the memory of every house and every place of our blessed land," Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said on Twitter.

The UAE government announced in August 2015 that Nov. 30 would be Commemoration Day.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition including the UAE forces launched a military campaign in Yemen to drive out the Houthi rebels, an armed group which opposes the internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Enditem