The UAE government has approved a list of 83 designated terrorist organisations as part of a new law to combat terrorism issued by the president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The UAE’s Council of Ministers “provided for the publication of the lists in the media for the purposes of transparency and to raise awareness in society about these organisations,” the official Emirates News Agency (Wam) announced.

The list includes various factions of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), and the Houthi movement in Yemen.

The UAE has long backed Saudi Arabia’s decision to name the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation and has cracked down on local groups judged to be connected to the Egypt-based Islamists with several arrests over recent years.

Abu Dhabi supported the military coup that saw Egypt’s Brotherhood-backed president Mohamed Mursi removed from power in 2013.  

The UAE and Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the group has put them at odds with fellow GCC member Qatar, which has provided backing for the Brotherhood.