Biennial arms fair IDEX kick starts in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabu: 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.

The war went unmentioned at the opening ceremony of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, while many nations inked millions of dollars' worth of deals with the UAE.

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 has killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The US, which is backing the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, had a large presence at the event.

Lawmakers in the US are increasingly uneasy over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and sceptical of the US partnership with the coalition, especially in light of Saudi Arabia's role in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the royal family.

The first day of the defence exhibition saw 4.9 billion dirhams (1.3 billion US dollars) worth of deals signed, including a 1.3-billion-dirham (353.9 million US dollar) contract with Raytheon to buy Patriot air and missile defence systems.