ABU DHABI/MANAMA/CAIRO: The United Arab Emirates has banned the use of drones for one month, days after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a deadly drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi. “The Ministry of Interior is currently stopping all flying operations for owners, practitioners and enthusiasts of drones, including drones and light sports aircraft,” the official WAM news agency reported late Saturday. “Anyone performing these activities during that period and disregarding guidelines will be subject to legal liabilities,” it added, reporting the ban would last for one month.

Without mentioning the recent deadly attack, the ministry said the order was made after “misuse spotted recently” where users were “trespassing into areas where these types of activities are prohibited”. Those who need to fly drones for work must ask the authorities for the “necessary exceptions and permits”, it added.

Last Monday, Houthi rebels claimed a drone and missile attack that struck oil facilities and the airport in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, killing three people and wounding six. The UAE is part of a Saudi-led military coalition that supports Yemen’s government against the Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis have carried out repeated cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, but the Jan 17 attack was the first acknowledged by the UAE inside its borders and claimed by the Yemeni insurgents.

Crude prices soared to seven-year highs partly because of the Abu Dhabi attacks, which exploded fuel tanks near storage facilities of oil giant ADNOC. The Houthis later warned UAE residents to avoid “vital installations” and told foreign companies to leave the “unsafe” Gulf country. The Arab League yesterday said the Houthi rebels should be labelled as a "terrorist" group after they attacked the UAE. The pan-Arab bloc, based in the Egyptian capital, said the Houthis should be designated "as a terrorist organization" after the attack. In a statement following an extraordinary meeting, it called the strikes "a flagrant violation of international law... and a real threat to vital civilian installations, energy supplies, and global economic stability," as well as a threat to regional peace and security.

Meanwhile, the US navy said Sunday it had stopped a ship carrying 40 tons of a fertilizer that can be used to make explosives as it travelled from Iran along a route previously used to smuggle weapons to the Houthi rebels. The navy said it boarded and searched the ship, which last year was caught carrying thousands of weapons and handed to Yemen’s coast guard, after intercepting it in international waters in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday.

A US guided-missile destroyer and patrol ship “interdicted the stateless vessel transiting from Iran... along a route historically used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen,” the Bahrain-based US 5th Fleet said. “US forces discovered 40 tons (36,300 kilos) of urea fertilizer, a chemical compound with agricultural applications that is also known to be used as an explosive precursor,” it added.

The same “stateless fishing vessel” was found to be carrying thousands of AK47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launches and other weapons when it was stopped last February, the US Navy said. The Saudi-led coalition and its allies, including the United States, regularly accuse Iran of providing military support to the Houthis, claims that Tehran denies. – AFP