Yemen Monitor/ Montreal /Exclusive:
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Friday called on the Yemeni government to register an almost-completed runway on Abd al-Kuri Island, believed to be a UAE military airport.
William Raillant-Clark, a spokesman for the Montreal-based ICAO, which sets unique airport codes worldwide, said the organization has no information about the airstrip in Abd al-Kuri, according to the Associated Press.
He added, “Yemen, as an ICAO member state, must provide information about the airstrip to the organization. There is already a declared airport in the nearby island of Socotra, which is Hediboh International Airport.”
The Yemeni government has refused to comment on the secret airport that the UAE has been building for years on the strategic Yemeni island at the mouth of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
The Associated Press published a satellite-based report indicating that the UAE is nearing completion of the runway.
The UAE government said in a statement that “any presence of the UAE… is based on humanitarian grounds and is carried out in cooperation with the Yemeni government and local authorities.”
