TUNIS: Security measures taken by the UAE against Tunisian women trying to travel to the Gulf state were prompted by fears of a terrorist attack, Tunisia said Monday.
Since Friday, Tunisian women and girls have been delayed for hours as they look to board flights to the UAE.
Passengers said the only explanation they were given by airline staff was that women holding Tunisian passports were not allowed to travel to the UAE.
In response, Tunisia on Sunday suspended Emirates flights between Tunis and Dubai.
“The UAE authorities have serious security information about the possibility of terrorist attacks,” Tunisian presidency spokeswoman Saida Garrach told Shems FM radio.
The information indicates that with militants returning from Syria and Iraq, there is “a possibility of a terrorist attack involving either Tunisian women or women carrying a Tunisian passport,” Garrach said, suggesting that they could be using false identities.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on Sunday blamed the delays on “security information that necessitated taking specific procedures.”
“We highly value Tunisian women and respect them,” he said on Twitter.
Terror attack fears behind female flyer row, says Tunisia
Terror attack fears behind female flyer row, says Tunisia
Arab coalition warns against military moves undermining de-escalation in Yemen
- The coalition’s spokesperson, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said the warning follows a request from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council to take urgent measures
DUBAI: The Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government warned on Saturday that any military movements undermining de-escalation efforts would be dealt with immediately to protect civilians, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The coalition’s spokesperson, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said the warning follows a request from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council to take urgent measures to protect civilians in Hadramout Governorate amid what he described as serious humanitarian violations by groups affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council.
The statement said the measures are part of ongoing joint Saudi-Emirati efforts to reduce tensions, facilitate the withdrawal of forces, hand over military camps, and enable local authorities to carry out their duties.
Al-Maliki reaffirmed the coalition’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and called on all parties to exercise restraint and engage in peaceful solutions, the agency reported.
The STC has pushed the internationally recognised government from its headquarters in Aden while claiming broad control across the south this month.
Saudi Arabia has called STC forces to withdraw from areas it seized earlier in December in the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra.
