UAE denies Yemeni accusations of operating secret prisons, storing weapons at Mukalla airport

By Mustafa M. M. Haboush and Lina Altawell

ISTANBUL (AA) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied allegations by the governor of Yemen’s Hadhramaut province accusing Abu Dhabi of operating secret prisons and storing weapons and explosives at Al Rayyan Airport in the coastal city of Mukalla.

In a statement issued Monday evening, the Defense Ministry said it “categorically denies” claims made by Hadhramaut Governor Salem al-Khanbashi about the discovery of weapons, explosives and detention sites linked to the UAE at the airport, calling the accusations “false and unsupported by evidence.”

The ministry said that the UAE forces had completed their full withdrawal from Yemen on Jan. 2, 2026, including the removal of all equipment, weapons and technical assets, leaving no remaining military, logistical or technical presence in the country.

Addressing accusations of secret prisons at Al Rayyan Airport, the ministry said the facilities cited are military housing, operations rooms and fortified shelters, some of them underground, which it described as standard features at airports and military installations.

On Monday, Khanbashi claimed that authorities had uncovered secret prisons allegedly used by Emirati forces and that relevant agencies were documenting abuses suffered by detainees.

He said officials found what he described as “suspicious equipment” at the airport base, including traps, explosives, underground cells and evidence of abductions, torture and enforced disappearances.

On Jan. 3, Abu Dhabi announced that it had completed the withdrawal of all its forces from Yemen.

The move came after Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said he had annulled a joint defense agreement with Abu Dhabi and demanded that all UAE forces leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours.

Fighting erupted in eastern and southern Yemen in early December after the Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched an attack on Hadhramaut and Al-Mahrah provinces and briefly seized control of them before government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, regained the areas in early January.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia accused the UAE of pushing STC forces to carry out military operations along the kingdom’s southern border in Hadhramaut and Mahra. Abu Dhabi denied the accusation.

‏The Saudi-led coalition also said that Aidarous al-Zubaidi, leader of the now-dissolved STC, had fled Aden by sea to Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland before traveling to the UAE.

Zubaidi is currently facing legal action after the Yemeni presidential council revoked his membership and referred him to the public prosecutor on charges of “high treason.”