Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
Yesterday, Wednesday, a UAE military base was announced to have been inaugurated on Socotra Island, despite the absence of any official agreement with the Yemeni government permitting such action.
Minister of Transport, Abdul Salam Humaid, who is loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), made a surprise appearance to announce the opening of a new airport on Abd al-Kuri Island, where reports of a UAE military base being established have repeatedly surfaced.
Humaid claimed that the new airport “will contribute to connecting the island with Socotra archipelago, Yemen, and the world”!!.
The Minister had accompanied the President of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, on his visit to Socotra archipelago.
Observers believe that the UAE has exploited al-Zubaidi’s membership in the Presidential Leadership Council to strengthen its influence in the Socotra archipelago by controlling the airport, port, islands, and the fisheries sector.
They reported that the island has become a closed military zone for years, with entry permitted only under Emirati supervision, to the extent that the governor of Socotra was not allowed to visit it until yesterday, Wednesday.
Residents of Socotra ridiculed the Minister of Transport’s statements about the airport, stressing that Abd al-Kuri Island has become occupied and that what happened yesterday was merely an inauguration for media consumption.
They affirmed that these steps were expected, and the main goal of summoning al-Zubaidi was to pass these concessions and “ratify” the handover of the island and the opening of the UAE military base.
This move comes as part of a series of steps taken by the UAE to expand its influence in Socotra, where a number of strategic sites have been handed over, including Socotra International Airport, Shahab Port, which was signed by the Emirati Eastern Triangle Holding Company, in addition to mining sites and the fisheries sector.
In his comment, Al-Rumaili said: “Are these people worthy of running a state? They cannot even be trusted with a flock of sheep, so how can anyone trust them to manage the affairs of a country?!”
This move seeks to assert Emirati influence in Socotra through military and economic control over a range of sovereign sites, amid the absence and silence of the Presidential Council and the Yemeni government.
