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Abu Dhabi arms fair opens amid Yemen war criticism

Troops raid a building during a military demonstration at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. The biennial arms show in Abu Dhabi comes as the United Arab Emirates faces increasing criticism for its role in the yearlong war in Yemen. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A biennial arms fair has opened in the United Arab Emirates as the country faces increasing scrutiny over its involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

While the war went unmentioned at the opening ceremony of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, it was clearly present in the theatrical show offered to spectators.

In it, a militia threatens an unknown country with both launchpad-based and mobile ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia has faced over 100 such launches by Yemen’s Houthi rebels into the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the leading members of a coalition that has been at war with the Iran-aligned Houthis since March 2015. The conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Associated Press