UAE occupation of Socotra curiously absent from Saudi-UAE talks in Riyadh

UAE occupation of Socotra curiously absent from Saudi-UAE talks in Riyadh

The UAE occupation has continued to build military bases in the province of the Socotra archipelago, and transported military equipment to it with the approval of Saudi Arabia, Qatari news agency Al-Jazeera reported, citing a source.

According to the source, the UAE “has pressed to disrupt parliamentary accountability to the government about building UAE bases in Socotra.”

The source expressed surprise at the “absence of the Socotra case from the military measure negotiations that pave the way for the announcement of the new government”.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militias have controlled Socotra since June.

“The UAE has sent 25 officers and 15 foreign experts to strengthen its presence after the formation of the government,” the source said.

The source pointed to large-scale Emirati moves to buy houses and farms in strategic areas of the archipelago.

On Friday, Abyan province has witnessed  the first steps of withdrawing troops as part of the Riyadh Agreement, between the Saudi-led Hadi puppet government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council. However, discussions about the Emirati occupation of Socotra remain curiously absent from the talks.