Malaysia announces withdrawal of troops from Saudi Arabia

Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Sabo
Malaysia announces withdrawal of troops from Saudi Arabia
Malaysian Defense Minister Mohammad Sabo said his government had decided to withdraw its forces previously deployed in Saudi Arabia and return them to the country soon.
"The Cabinet took this decision last week, and now we are waiting for appropriate preparations by our armed forces, and we expect cooperation from the State Department to help take this action," Sabo said at a news conference on Thursday.
Sabo, who took office last month under the new government, noted that Malaysia adheres to the principle of neutrality in its foreign policy and seeks to maintain diplomatic relations with all Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
He said that the presence of Malaysian forces in Saudi Arabia, where they were deployed there by the previous government to help evacuate Malaysians from Yemen, made his country indirectly involved in the Yemeni war. "Malaysia has always adhered to the policy of neutrality and does not support any of the political ideologies Which is followed by the world's great powers. "
"We do not want to be part of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and its neighboring countries," he said.
The former Malaysian defense minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, denied the involvement of his forces in the military operations in Yemen, adding that the Malaysian military did not enter the conflict zone in this country only to evacuate the citizens of Malaysia.
Earlier in June, the executive director of the non-governmental human rights organization, Lawyers for Freedom, Eric Poulsen, called on the country's authorities to suspend any involvement of its forces in the ongoing operations in Yemen, noting that the continued presence of Malaysian military personnel under the pretext of "humanitarian action" mockery.
Source: Malaysian media