Yemen: UAE must leave Socotra Island before tensions rise

The Yemeni Ambassador to the United Nations, Khalid Al-Yamani, said his government has exclusive sovereignty over the land and this cannot be divided.

Speaking to Gulf Online, Al-Yamani said the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen aims to support the legitimacy of the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and not undermine it.

He added that his country’s position on the UAE’s violations in Socotra has been communicated to the global governments by Yemeni envoys.

“President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi asked the coalition to intervene in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter to deter the coup and support the Yemeni legitimacy against Iran’s expansionist project in Yemen through the Houthis,” he said.

The UAE joined the Saudi-led coalition to recapture parts of northern Yemen from Houthi forces who overthrow the government in the capital Sana’a. However over the past year the UAE’s objectives in Yemen appear to differ from the outlined aims of the coalition and it has since backed the formation of the Yemen Transitional Council which stands in opposition to Hadi’s rule, it has also called for the separation of northern Yemen from the south. The Emirates has built a military base on Socotra Island which many believe is further proof of its plans to dominate the important shipping route through the Red Sea.

Read: Yemen government slams UAE troop dispatch on Socotra island