Anger in Yemen Over New UAE Plot Against Socotra Island
Popular and community circles in Yemen have expressed intense outrage over a new conspiracy by the UAE aimed at gaining control of the strategically important Socotra Island airport.
Yemeni sources reveal that the Emirati authorities have intensified their efforts to target Socotra airport by purchasing adjacent lands and appropriating portions of the airport’s land as private property.
It was noted that a committee linked to Abu Dhabi has seized parts of Socotra airport land and is working to designate it as private property, taking advantage of directives from Governor Raefat Al-Thaqali, continuing the pattern of Emirati violations of public lands and properties in Socotra.
Yemeni media sources reported that Abu Dhabi is taking advantage of the complicity of the local authority aligned with the Transitional Council in Socotra, as well as the silence and inaction of the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Riyadh- and Abu Dhabi-backed Presidential Council.
This new conspiracy by the UAE has raised alarm and apprehension among the citizens of the archipelago, who are calling on their government to take immediate action to stop Abu Dhabi’s continuous violations of sovereignty and property on the island.
Yemeni activist and politician Salem Al-Bakri stated that ‘what is happening in Socotra at the hands of the UAE represents a fundamental violation of national sovereignty, as the UAE is working to reshape the geographical and demographic character of the island.’
Al-Bakri pointed out that ‘Abu Dhabi aims to turn it into a strategic military base that serves its regional interests in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This approach not only poses a danger to the security of the south and Yemen as a whole, but also threatens national security across the entire region.’
He added that this Emirati encroachment in Socotra would not have been possible without the prevailing weakness and internal divisions, both in political leadership and in international support for the southern cause.
Additionally, Saeed Al-Rumaili, a resident of Socotra, noted that ‘the governor (Raefat Al-Thaqali) has tasked an Emirati committee with dividing state-owned lands at the airport during his stay in Dubai, converting them into Emirati property. He stated that ‘accepting such violations would bring shame and a lasting curse on the people of Socotra for generations.’
The owner of the account ‘Son of the South’ stated: ‘Five years ago, the UAE built a marine jetty in the Socotra archipelago as a mini-port next to a government-run port, enabling them to transport anything they wanted without the Yemeni government’s oversight.’
He added, ‘Today, they are appropriating large areas of Socotra airport and converting them into a landing site and military base for intelligence operations on behalf of Israel.’
Additionally, users pointed out that ‘the UAE has created local proxies to facilitate the appropriation of the country’s resources and wealth. One of these proxies is Raefat Al-Thaqali, whom the UAE appointed as governor of Socotra. He established an Emirati committee to divide the lands of Socotra airport and allocate portions for Emirati military and intelligence operations.’
Since the onset of the Yemen conflict in 2015, Abu Dhabi has been striving to control the strategically vital Socotra archipelago in the Indian Ocean. This effort is part of a broader coalition being established between Israel and several Gulf Arab states under U.S. support, according to previous reports.
Recent revelations from the Israeli newspaper Maariv indicate that work is being accelerated on an intelligence military base on the Yemeni island of ‘Abd al-Kuri’ within the Socotra archipelago, situated near the Bab al-Mandab strait.
On July 29, 2024, the report highlighted that Abu Dhabi and Israel are crafting a significant threat for both Iran and the Houthis near their borders, backed by the U.S., amid increasing attacks from the group in the Red Sea.
Following its military intervention in Yemen, purportedly to fight the Houthis, Abu Dhabi managed to seize Socotra Island, where UAE-supported separatists took control by force, expelling forces loyal to former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on June 21, 2020.”
