Deep Within the Mountains: Secrets of the Largest UAE Base in Yemen
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The United Arab Emirates continues to expand its military influence in Yemen, with new information revealing the establishment of a special operations site inside the “Murrah” military camp, located northwest of Ataq in Shabwa province. This site has been dubbed “Site C.”
This location is considered one of the most sensitive and dangerous Emirati intelligence centers in the Middle East, due to its direct connection with Abu Dhabi’s State Security Agency and UAE intelligence services.
Surrounded by mountainous terrain and fortified walls, the site is designed on two levels:
Above ground, it includes an operations center, a satellite communications room, and a large hall.
Below ground, it extends through fortified corridors and entrances that lead to secret, vital facilities.
Access to the site is tightly restricted. Yemenis are strictly prohibited from approaching it, and even Emirati officers and soldiers can only enter with special permits issued directly from Abu Dhabi.
According to military analyst Ali Al-Nassi, the role of “Site C” goes beyond Yemen’s borders, extending into arms smuggling operations across the region, particularly in Sudan.
After direct Emirati support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), was exposed, Abu Dhabi turned to more covert methods. These include purchasing weapons from Yemeni markets through local intermediaries, transporting them to the Shabwa coast via smuggling routes, then by sea to Eritrea, and finally across land into South Sudan, reaching the city of Nyala, which is under Hemedti’s control.
This process makes it difficult to trace the origin of the weapons or directly link them to the UAE.
However, the activities of “Site C” are not limited to Sudan. It is also said to oversee field operations inside Yemen itself, including the management of a unit known as the “Rakah Battalion”, active in Shabwa, Hadhramaut, and Al-Mahrah. The site is also reportedly connected to another facility at Riyan Airport in Hadhramaut, referred to as the “Red Gate.”
Since the UAE took control of Murrah Camp in late 2021, it has become the largest Emirati military base in Yemen. Over the past few years, the camp has undergone phased expansion, including the construction of a fortified command center, camps for UAE forces and the Southern Transitional Council, a helicopter landing pad, and the excavation of dozens of underground bunkers and tunnels.
Amid rising tensions in the fall of 2023, the UAE added dirt airstrips approximately 1,800 meters long, along with advanced air defense systems.
Today, satellite imagery reveals ongoing excavation and development within the base, including the construction of what are believed to be new bunkers and the carving of roads to link different parts of the facility.
These developments indicate that Murrah Camp is no longer merely a local military site but a strategic regional baseplaying a significant role in broader geopolitical conflicts.
Some observers warn that the UAE’s fortified presence in Shabwa could become a gateway for more controversial foreign actors—most notably Israel—especially amid escalating confrontations between Tel Aviv and Sana’a in the Red Seaand other strategic waterways.
These analysts argue that allowing Israeli presence inside “Site C” or any part of Murrah Camp would not be a minor development, but rather a dangerous escalation that could shift the balance of conflict in Yemen and the entire region, adding a new regional dimension to the Yemeni crisis.
