Hundreds of tourists stranded on isolated island amid Middle East divide

Hundreds of European and American tourists who traveled to a remote island in the Indian Ocean found themselves stranded after United Arab Emirates (UAE) troops withdrew from the area.

About 600 tourists who visited the island of Socotra, which belongs to Yemen and is located about 380 kilometers south of the Arabian Peninsula and east of the Horn of Africa, can no longer leave the island after the departure of Emirati troops after the expiration of a deadline set by Saudi Arabia.

Emirati troops were present on the island due to the civil war in Yemen, which the United Arab Emirates used to expand its regional influence. Its army initially joined Saudi forces to support the Yemeni government’s fight against Houthi forces. As part of this effort, the UAE deployed troops to Socotra.

Over time, the interests of the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the region have diverged, with both supporting alternative approaches to defeating Houthi forces.

Air traffic at the island’s main airport ground to a halt as the crisis between the two countries escalated into a new conflict. from Yemen the continent, where the two Gulf powers now support opposing groups in the civil war that has raged in the country since 2014.

“No one has any information and everyone just wants to return to their normal lives,” Aurelija Krikstaponiene, a Lithuanian who traveled to Socotra for New Year’s Eve, told Reuters.

Krikstaponiene was due to fly to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but he may now have to go via Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as the balance of power shifts. Yemeni Airlines told the British media on Monday that it would operate a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on January 7. The airport was previously under Emirati control.

Socotra, until recently, was accessible by air from the United Arab Emirates and offered some tranquility to visitors amid years of conflict in Yemen.

Politically part of Yemen, Socotra came under the control of the United Arab Emirates in 2018 when their military planes landed on the island. It has since become a niche tourist destination and has seen an infrastructure boom thanks to Emirati investment.

Its beaches, trees and endemic plants, including the Socotra dragon-blood tree, have long attracted tourists.

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At the same time, its location in the Gulf of Aden, along a maritime route to the Red Sea, makes it strategically desirable to regional superpowers.

The tanks and troops arriving in 2018 were part of the UAE’s efforts to extend its reach over the region’s waters, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

“Socotra operates as an unsinkable aircraft carrier located at the heart of the Bab al-Mandab system, in the middle of the trade corridor that connects Europe, Asia and Africa,” Andreas Krieg, associate professor at King’s College London, told Reuters.

“Even without firing a single shot, an actor with reliable access to the island has important leverage: to observe, potentially intercept and project influence,” he continued. “On an island where air access often becomes the decisive gateway, influence on connectivity translates into influence on everything else, including security presence, local governance and commercial life. »

Yemen is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Visiting Socotra poses a risk due to its proximity to the mainland, although it is isolated from the civil war.

Global News has contacted Global Affairs Canada for further information and to verify if any of the stranded tourists are Canadian.

— With files from Reuters

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