The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday denied running secret prisons in southern Yemen following claims from Saudi-backed Yemeni officials that widened a rift between the Gulf powers.
The allegations are “deliberate fabrications” and a “blatant attempt to advance political agendas at the expense of truth”, a defence ministry statement said.
Monday’s claims from Hadramawt province followed clashes between UAE- and Saudi-backed forces that prompted Abu Dhabi to withdraw its remaining troops from Yemen.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Gulf’s biggest economies, joined forces to fight Yemen’s Iran-sponsored Houthi rebels in 2015 but ended up backing opposing camps in the south.
