NYN | News
Yemeni media outlets revealed today the presence of foreign military experts of various nationalities, including Americans and Israelis, stationed on the islands of Samhah and Abd al-Kuri, which are part of the Socotra Archipelago, east of the Gulf of Aden.
According to the reports, the military bases on these two islands are no longer limited to the previously known Israeli presence, but now also include experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and India, operating within multinational foreign military formations.
The reports added that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to play a controversial role in the archipelago, having opened the door to Israeli involvement during the years of war in Yemen, exploiting the increasing geopolitical importance of Socotra’s strategic location.
They also noted the absence of any official response from the Presidential Leadership Council, despite what was described as a “flagrant violation of Yemeni sovereignty.” This silence, the reports suggested, raises serious questions, particularly amid the expanding foreign military presence in Socotra and its extension to the Mayyun and Zuqurislands in the Red Sea.
The UAE established a joint military base with Israel on Abd al-Kuri Island in 2020, along with strategic surveillance centers in Ras Qatnan, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with monitoring coverage extending as far as the Horn of Africa and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
In a related context, a report issued by the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in November 2023 confirmed that Socotra has, since 2020, been transformed into a joint Emirati-Israeli intelligence base.
The report also noted that Abd al-Kuri Island has recently seen significant military reinforcements, including the deployment of Israeli-made sensor systems, believed to be used for tracking the movements of Sana’a’s forces, including missiles and drones.
