[Al Jazeera] Nearly two dozen Yemenis have said they were beaten, tortured and arbitrarily held by militias affiliated with the United Arab Emirates in southern Yemen, then dumped hundreds of kilometres away in areas rife with violence and warned to never return.
In a series of videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera, the civilians said they were rounded up and driven from the port city of Aden by the UAE-created Security Belt - a force set up in 2016 to police southern areas in the war-ravaged country - to active front lines in the provinces of Taiz and Sanaa.
One resident who was recently deported said the Security Belt harassed "northern" women and the elderly.
"We were attacked in our hotels [by the Security Belt] and they kicked us out. We couldn't find anywhere to stay," he said.
"There were a large number of us and we had a lot of money [invested in Aden], but they harassed us, and told us this is not your country.
"They forced us out and even took our medication."
Shops, restaurants and homes were all raided by the Security Belt, others reported, with hundreds of people tossed in the calaboose
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
and their assets seized.
"They gave us 24 hours to leave and said if we don't, we'll open fire at you," another man said. "They even killed one person in al-Mansoura [a district of Aden]."
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