The UAE’s Armed Forces have long been involved in international peacekeeping missions in a bid to support and strengthen countries affected by conflict and war.

This record of effective participation began about five years after the formation of the United Arab Emirates, in May 1976. It was then that the Federal Supreme Council issued a landmark decision to merge all armed forces under one command.

Later that year, the forces undertook their first international mission when they joined Arab Deterrent Forces for a peacekeeping mission during Lebanon’s civil war.

In 1991, during the conflict in Kuwait, the UAE’s forces participated for the first time in a mission in an active war zone when they were part of the coalition to liberate Kuwait.

The next year, they worked with the UN forces in the Hope Revival mission in Somalia, which aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the southern half of the country

Almost a decade later, in 1999, the UAE once again sent in soldiers and personnel to join the peacekeeping UN forces in Kosovo during the Kosovo War. These forces also helped set up camps in the volatile region to shelter thousands of Kosovar refugees who were displaced during the civil war.

After the war subsided in Kosovo, the UAE Armed Forces signed a Dh12-million contract for the establishment and maintenance of the Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Kosovo, and the facility was officially opened in 2003.

The UAE army then went on to support the UN mission in Afghanistan from 2007 onwards, providing both personnel and armoured vehicles. Assisting with aid distribution, Emirati patrols faced attacks from insurgents, and even fought their way out from Taliban ambushes. Despite this, the Armed Forces worked to protect relief workers, and offered a safe environment for the rebuilding of communities, including the establishment of schools, clinics and mosques.

In 2014, when the Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 went missing, the UAE Armed Forces also took park in search operations.

Most recently, from March 2015 onwards, the UAE has been playing an active role as part of the Saudi-led coalition mission, Operation Restoring Hope. The mission is aimed to reinstate the legitimate government of Yemen and drive out Al Houthi rebels from the country. Dozens of committed Emirati servicemen lost their lives in a bid to protect the people in the war-ravaged nation

source : gulfnews