Yemen officials demand answers after AP report on air base

Yemeni officials are demanding answers after an Associated Press report highlighted a mysterious air base being built on a Yemeni island in one of the world’s crucial maritime chokepoints

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Yemeni officials demanded answers Wednesday after an Associated Press report highlighted a mysterious air base being built on a Yemeni island in one of the world's crucial maritime chokepoints. A lawmaker asked Yemen's internationally recognized government if the United Arab Emirates built the facility as data in the AP report links the UAE to the construction. Another official openly criticized the UAE for “undermining” the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition fought on the government's behalf when it entered Yemen's long war in 2015 against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels now holding its capital. The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has not responded to repeated requests for comment regarding the base and offered no immediate reaction Wednesday to the officials' comments.