Three soldiers have died “while performing their duty” in Yemen, Qatar’s Armed Forces has announced.
The deaths of Mohammed Awad Salim, Mohammed Daoud Khayal and Mohammed Nasser Mohammed mark the biggest loss of life Qatar has seen since it first sent ground troops to Yemen in September 2015.
In a tweet, Qatar’s foreign minister extended his condolences:
جنودنا البواسل ذادوا بأرواحهم و سطّروا البطولات بدمائهم للدفاع عن الحق و نصرة المظلوم، رحم الله #شهداء_قطر و شهداء الخليج واسكنهم جناته.
— محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) September 13, 2016
Translation: Our brave soldiers sacrificed their souls and used them as shields (to ward danger). With their blood they wrote an epic of chivalry and courage in defending the oppressed and standing by the truth. May God have mercy on the souls of Qatar’s martyrs, the martyrs of the GCC and may they be given an eternal abode in paradise.
The nationalities of the soldiers were not specified. Due to the small local population, the Armed Forces also consists of soldiers from several other countries.
The soldiers were part of a Saudi-led coalition that supports Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi’s fight against Houthi rebels.
Yemen has suffered under the weight of the conflict, which began in 2014 been.
Since then, the UN said that some 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed. And 2.8 million more have been driven from their homes due to fighting across the country.
Rising toll
So far, at least one other Qatari soldier has died in Yemen. Last November, Muhammad Hamid Sulayman was killed there.
And several other men have been injured in the past year, including two soldiers last month.
In a statement carried on QNA late last night, the Armed Forces extended its condolences to the families of the newly deceased.
They will be buried in Qatar today, according to Al Sharq.
Thoughts?
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the nationalities of the soldiers killed were not specified.
