Emirati company seizes naval defense site in Yemen’s Island of Socotra

SOCOTRA, Jan. 04 (YPA) – An Emirati company has taken control of a naval defense site in the Yemeni archipelago of Socotra, located to the east of the Gulf of Aden.

A local source on the island reported on Saturday that Rafat Al-Thaqali, the UAE-backed governor of Socotra, handed over the “Third Battalion site of the First Marine Infantry Brigade” in Hadibo, the archipelago’s administrative center, to an Emirati company affiliated with the Khalifa Foundation.

The source explained to the “Yemen Press Agency” that the transfer of the coastal defense battalion site was part of an agreement between Al-Thaqali and the UAE intelligence representative Khalfan Al-Mazrouei, although the nature of the project to be implemented by the company remains unclear.

This development follows the UAE’s recent installation of several maritime surveillance towers equipped with advanced radar systems last week near the radar camp between the Port of Haulaf and the Ararin area.

Since UAE forces seized control of Hadibo, Socotra’s main city, in June 2020, they have been working on establishing a joint military base with the Israeli entity on Abd al-Kuri Island, strategically overlooking the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and extending toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Last March, America officially announced the creation of air defenses in Socotra to protect Israeli ships from Yemeni missile strikes under the pretext of the so-called confrontation with “Iran.”

YPA