Lives Cut Short: Migrant Workers Among Dead in Drone, Missile Attacks Across UAE
Many of the attacks have struck civilian residential buildings, hotels, airports, embassies, and other civilian sites
By Habib Toumi
MANAMA: Six foreign nationals — including three Pakistanis, one Palestinian, one Bangladeshi, and one Nepalese — have been killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), highlighting the growing civilian toll of the escalating conflict.
The victims were identified as Murib Zaman Nizar, Muzaffar Ali Ghulam, and Ismail Salim Khan from Pakistan; Alaa Nader Awni from Palestine; Saleh Ahmed Ali from Bangladesh; and Dibas Shrestha from Nepal.
Murib Zaman Nizar, 44, was killed by falling missile debris in Abu Dhabi on February 28. Originally from Bannu in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, he had spent years working as a driver in the UAE capital to support his family and build a better future for his five young children.
At the time of the attack, he was inside a residence when debris from an aerial strike struck the building. Friends said Murib had been saving money to construct a permanent home in his hometown and hoped to take his elderly parents on Umrah to Makkah. Just days before his death, he had sent money home so his children, aged between four and twelve, could buy new clothes for the upcoming Eid celebrations.
Alaa Nader Awni, a young Palestinian woman, was killed when a strike hit a civilian vehicle.
According to Human Rights Watch, Saleh Ahmed Ali was collecting water for delivery in the Al Talla neighborhood in Ajman when debris from an apparent attack struck his water tanker. The impact pierced the cab and damaged the rear of the vehicle, killing Ahmed and injuring two others – a Bangladeshi and a Pakistani worker.
Dibas Shrestha, a Nepalese national, died when a drone struck Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, where he was employed as a security guard.
Human Rights Watch reported that, as of March 16, waves of Iranian drone and missile attacks across Gulf states that include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have resulted in at least 11 civilian deaths and 268 injuries. The majority of those affected are migrant workers.
At least 10 of those killed were foreign nationals, with several deaths caused by falling debris from intercepted or incoming strikes.
“Civilians in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are at grave risk from ongoing Iranian strikes in response to US and Israeli military attacks on Iran,” Human Rights Watch said. “Many of the attacks have struck civilian residential buildings, hotels, airports, embassies, and other civilian sites, including financial centers.”
The organization urged Iranian authorities to take immediate measures to protect civilians, warning that migrant workers across the Gulf remain particularly vulnerable to the ongoing attacks.
