Direct proof of use
The Zastava M02 Coyote is directly documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through Amnesty International's February 2019 open-source investigation into UAE-backed militia equipment. Amnesty reported that Serbian-made Zastava M02 Coyote machine guns were among the weapons used by UAE-allied militias in Hodeidah.
The same investigation placed the Coyote evidence in a wider set of Hodeidah battlefield imagery and reporting on UAE-backed Yemeni formations, including the Giants, Security Belt, and Shabwani Elite forces. For the Coyote itself, the public source supports use by UAE-allied militias in Hodeidah; it does not name a specific firing unit, serial number, or individual engagement.
Sources: Amnesty Yemen UAE Arms Diversion, Amnesty When Arms Go Astray
Timeline
The documented Coyote appearance belongs to the Hodeidah phase of the war, when the Saudi-led coalition and UAE-backed Yemeni forces were fighting around the Red Sea port before and after the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement. Amnesty published its investigation on February 6, 2019, after reviewing open-source evidence from the battle for Hodeidah.
The timeline therefore starts with the Hodeidah campaign context and records the date when the Coyote use was publicly documented, rather than treating February 2019 as the first battlefield use date.
Sources: OSESGY Stockholm Agreement, Amnesty Yemen UAE Arms Diversion
Narrative
The M02 Coyote is a Serbian 12.7 mm heavy machine gun built by Zastava Arms for tripod-mounted infantry use and offered in 12.7x108 mm and 12.7x99 mm versions. In Yemen, the available public evidence places it with UAE-allied militia forces rather than with regular Emirati units.
Amnesty's finding separates the Coyote from general possession claims: it described Coyote machine guns as used by UAE-allied militias in Hodeidah, while also identifying other militia equipment such as US-supplied armored vehicles, Belgian Minimi light machine guns, and Agrab mortar carriers. The supported conflict role is heavy-machine-gun fire support for coalition-aligned local forces, with a transfer or diversion context tied to UAE-backed militia arming.
The public record reviewed here does not establish how many Coyotes were present in Hodeidah, which militia detachment operated each gun, or whether the guns were mounted on vehicles or used from ground tripods. Those details should remain unattributed unless later imagery, serial-number tracing, or official reporting identifies them.
Sources: Zastava M02 Coyote Product Page, Amnesty Yemen UAE Arms Diversion, Amnesty When Arms Go Astray
