After attack, UAE to end Somalia military training mission

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –  The United Arab Emirates says it will end its military training mission to Somalia after an incident that saw its soldiers assaulted and $9.6 million seized at an airport in Mogadishu.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Sunday that the incident earlier this month at the airport “flies in the face of diplomatic traditions.”

The UAE said it has trained thousands of Somali soldiers and paid the salaries of 2,407 Somali soldiers.

Somalia had no immediate comment, though it said last Wednesday that it would end the UAE funding of its military.

Relations between Somalia and the UAE have been strained over the ongoing diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar, as well as Dubai-owned DP World port operator operating a major port in Somalia’s breakaway territory of Somaliland.