Arrival of UAE-backed forces stokes tensions on Yemen’s Socotra
The arrival last week of hundreds of UAE-backed Yemeni forces on Socotra has fuelled protests and further divided residents of the small island.
On one side are those, including the island’s governor, Ramzi Mahroos, who say the forces are part of a broader Emirati effort to occupy the island, located in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
On the other side are locals who point to the food aid and investment in infrastructure that the UAE has provided, and say al-Islah, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is stoking anti-UAE sentiment.
Over the past year, tensions have been sparked between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition including the Emiratis that intervened in the war in 2015, over which will dominate Socotra.
Now the dynamics from southern Yemen, where the al-Islah party, backed by Yemen’s exiled president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, wrestle against the UAE-backed Security Belt Forces are spilling onto the island.
The latest tensions kicked off last week after the deployment of the new batch of UAE-trained Yemeni forces to an Emirati military camp on the island. Following their arrival, there were clashes between the UAE-backed forces and those aligned with Hadi.
On Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators marched through Hadibu, the island’s capital, chanting slogans against the Emirati militias and in support of the Yemeni government.
Protesters say they see the continuing Emirati presence on the 80-mile long island, with a population of around 60,000, as an invasion without any connection to the war.
“Socotra is the Yemeni island that did not witness any fighting, so there is no need for military presence inside it,” said Mohammed al-Mizraqi, a local who participated in Sunday’s protests. “Socotra never witnessed any presence of military forces like nowadays.
“The Houthis did not invade Socotra but the Emiratis did – so we will oppose this invasion with all kinds of resistance until we liberate our island from the new invaders.”
But other residents point to the money that the UAE has invested in infrastructure and disaster relief since its arrival.
“The UAE builds hospitals, schools and helped needy people with food and money. The Emiratis helped the victims of the Monaco hurricane, so how can we demand them to go?” Mubarak, another resident, told MEE earlier this week.
“The government did not help Socotra with anything during the last years and only the UAE did, so I hope that protests next time take to the streets against the Islah party because they encourage residents to protest against the Emirates.”
Sure enough, on Thursday, there were fresh demonstrations against Islah as those in support of the UAE accused the party, with whom the island’s governor is aligned, of creating chaos.
Source: Middle East Eye
