UAE forces arrest several Socotra sheikhs

SOCOTRA, Oct. 12 (YPA) – A number of sheikhs and dignitaries of the Yemeni Socotra Archipelago, who have been opposed to its presence since 2017, were arrested by the UAE forces on Saturday.

Human rights sources in Al Jazeera reported that the Emirati factions arrested the head of the so-called Reconciliation and Settlement Committee formed by the local authority after he refused to sign a report prepared by the faction leaders stipulating commitment to the Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s policy and its directions in Hadibo city.

The sources added that the UAE forces kidnapped Sheikh Abdullah Haji in Qalansiyah district without giving any reasons, in addition to a number of others without giving their names.

The sources suggested that the arrest and kidnapping of the sheikhs in Socotra came as a result of boycotting the meeting called for by the Emirati-affiliated leader Abdullah Issa bin Afar, after his arrival from Abu Dhabi early October, amid accusations that he conspired against the Socotra tribes in favor of the UAE.

“The leadership of the Emirati-funded factions summoned many sheikhs and dignitaries of the Socotra tribes with the goal of humiliating and subjugating them to the Emirates,” they added.

This came after the sheikhs of the tribes rejected in a statement issued by the factions i to tear apart the Socotra society through what is called “tribal restructuring” and imposing its notables and sheikhs in a way that serves foreign orientations.

The sources affirmed that the UAE sought to overthrow the Sheikh of Sheikhs of Socotra, Issa bin Yaqout, affiliated with Islah Party, during the past months under the pretext of restructuring the tribal system of the people of Socotra.

AA