#Saudi-backed #Yemeni government accuses #UAE of running secret prisons, Abu Dhabi denies claim
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government accused the United Arab Emirates on Monday of running a secret prison at an airbase near the south Yemeni port city of Mukalla, an allegation denied by Abu Dhabi.
The accusation fueled tensions in a deepening row between the two Gulf oil states, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The allegations were made by Salem Al-Khanbashi, the governor of the eastern Yemeni province of Hadramout, during a rare media trip arranged by the Saudi government which flew international journalists including a Reuters team from Riyadh to the Riyan airbase near the Yemeni city of Mukalla.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-backed-tour-yemeni-officials-accuse-uae-running-secret-prisons-2026-01-19/
#Yemeni southern separatists in #Riyadh announce disputed disbanding of #STC
-The STC, which #SaudiArabia says is backed by the #UAE, launched an offensive against Yemeni gov’t troops in December.
Yemen’s main southern separatists have decided to disband following talks in Saudi Arabia, the secretary-general of the organisation has said, although the announcement was dismissed by its spokesman, who called it “ridiculous”.
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) Secretary-General Abdulrahman Jalal al-Subaihi said in a broadcast on Yemeni television on Friday that the dissolution of the group was taken to preserve peace and security in the south and in neighbouring countries.
He praised “the measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the solutions it has provided that meet the needs of the people of the South”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/9/yemens-separatist-southern-transitional-council-announces-its-dissolution