Foreign Officers Arrive on Socotra Island to Open Military Base
A number of Emirati and foreign officers have arrived at Hadibo Airport in the Yemeni Socotra archipelago province, a media source reported on Sunday.
“Balqis” TV satellite channel quoted private sources as saying “A number of Emirati officers arrived at Hadibo Airport on board an Arab Airlines plane, with the aim of opening a camp in the strategic Ras Qutaynan area, southwest of the island.”
Last week, local sources confirmed the arrival of an Emirati plane to the island of Abd al-Kuri in Socotra province, carrying Emirati officers and foreign military personnel.
The sources suggested that the UAE aims to finalize the Emirati military base on Abd al-Kuri Island, which was set up by the Emirati forces without the knowledge or approval of the Yemeni government.
Since the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council militia took control of Socotra in July 2019, the island has turned into a focus of Emirati activity aimed at isolating the island from its Yemeni surroundings.