UAE issues warrants for men filmed dancing 'outrageously’ in uniform Published duration 19 January 2016

image copyright AFP image caption It is not known what type of dancing the men were involved in, but in this traditional UAE dance men show off their rifle-spinning techniques

Arrest warrants have been issued in the United Arab Emirates for two men who posted a video online showing them dancing in military uniforms.

Prosecutors accused the pair of "making outrageous physical movements that did not respect the uniform, the morale and the value of national service".

The video, they added, was "an insult to the honour of military service".

The UAE is part of a coalition that has been battling the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen for almost nine months.

Its armed forces have suffered dozens of casualties there, and correspondents say this has made the authorities especially sensitive to the way they are portrayed.

The prosecutors complained that "some irresponsible persons were behaving improperly and in a manner that was certainly contemptuous of the local community which looked to its armed forces with deep respect and veneration".