The Minister of Transport of Yemen’s National Salvation Government, Zakaria al-Shami, says Israel is plundering natural resources on the strategic island of Socotra.
“The Zionist regime is operating in Socotra under the guise of the UAE, plundering and robbing its natural resources and taking advantage of its geographical location, crude oil, medical and tourism capacities, in addition to its other riches,” Shami said in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday.
The minister stressed the urgent need to protect the remote Arabian Sea archipelago, which is a candidate for UNESCO’s World Heritage designation because of its biodiversity and natural beauty.
Socotra has a population of about 60,000 and overlooks the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a main shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It has a unique ecosystem.
Socotra has been the cause of tension between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which vied for control of the resource-rich island.
In June last year, UAE-backed separatists from the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) took control of Socotra. This was described as a “full-fledged coup” by the government of Yemen’s former president, Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi.
The French-language news agency JForum said in a report last August that Israel, in cooperation with the UAE, was planning to build intelligence-gathering bases on the island of Socotra.
According to the report, the purpose of the bases is to electronically monitor Saudi Arabia-led forces waging a war against Yemen.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates are currently making all logistical preparations to establish intelligence bases to gather information from across the Gulf of Eden, including Bab al-Mandab and southern Yemen, which is under the control of forces backed by the United Arab Emirates.
They are also expected to establish military bases on the island.
The bases are the latest challenge to conservationists. They have long sought to preserve Socotra, which competes with the Galapagos and Mauritius Islands for endemic plant species.
According to UN officials, highways already built on the island, bypassing villages instead of connecting them, are causing significant damage to the environment.
by Basit Abbasi – CCTV