Gunmen kidnap three activists in Yemen’s Socotra archipelago
ADEN, Jan. 27 (YPA) – Gunmen loyal to UAE-backed forces abducted On Tuesday three activists from Yemen’s Socotra Archipelago, located east of the Gulf of Aden, and transferred them to an unknown location.
According to corroborating human rights and media sources, the armed group kidnapped media activist Abdullah Bedehan, political activist Hassan Al-Jazlawi, and Sheikh Faisal Ali Al-Shawaki while they were present on a street in Hadibo, the administrative capital of the archipelago.
The abduction reportedly came in retaliation for their criticism of the deteriorating public services and living conditions on the island.
The sources stated that the activists were taken at gunpoint to a secret detention facility inside a UAE-affiliated military camp, without any official statement from the pro-UAE authorities in Socotra clarifying the reasons for the abduction or disclosing their place of detention.
The incident has sparked widespread condemnation among civil society and human rights groups, which have called for the immediate disclosure of the detainees’ whereabouts and assurances for their safety—particularly as this marks the third abduction of activist Abdullah Bedehan.
These developments occured amid mounting tensions in the Socotra Archipelago, driven by worsening living and service conditions since Saudi-UAE coalition forces took control of the island in 2018.
The archipelago has since been transformed into a military base and joint maritime surveillance hub, reportedly involving Israeli forces, overseeing strategic waterways including the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since 2020.
AA