Abu Dhabi Crown Prince dismisses rumours of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa's health

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa is in good health and all reports on social networks otherwise are "mere rumours", Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince has said.

In a statement released by state news agency WAM, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, urged the people of the UAE to be cautious and not spread rumours.

"President Khalifa bin Zayed is well and in good health, thank God," a tweet from the Crown Prince's official twitter account read.

"Rumours circulated on social media about President's health are untrue & unfounded."

Sheikh Mohammed urged the public to not share unverified information online and to "use modern technology and social networking sites for the benefit of our society and country."

Social networks Twitter and Instagram were flooded with messages of prayer and support for Sheikh Khalifa.

An Arabic hashtag اللهم_احفظ_ولي_أمرنا_خليفة which translates to 'God save Sheikh Khalifa' received almost 2,500 tweets and was the top trending topic in the UAE on Saturday. Several images of the Sheikh with prayers in Arabic were also circulated.

Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke in January and underwent an operation. He was said to be in stable condition at the time.

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