Hundreds of tourists are stranded on a remote desert island in the middle of the Middle East Rift – National

Hundreds of European and American tourists who went to a remote island in the Indian Ocean were left stranded after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) forces withdrew from the region.

About 600 tourists who flew to 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, will no longer be able to fly from the island after the departure of the Emirati military when the deadline set by Saudi Arabia passed.

With Emirati troops on the island due to the civil war in Yemen, the UAE also helped increase its regional influence. Its soldiers initially joined forces with Saudi Arabia to support the Yemeni government’s war against the Houthi militias. As part of that effort, the UAE sent troops to Socotra.

Over time, the interests of the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the region diverged, both supporting alternative ways to defeat the Houthi forces.

Air traffic at the island’s main airport has ground to a halt as the crisis between the countries spills over into new conflicts in Yemen, where the two Gulf powers are now bringing rival factions back into the country’s civil war, which has been raging since 2014.

“No one knows and everyone wants to go back to their normal lives,” Aurelija Krikstaponiene, a Lithuanian who visited Socotra on New Year’s Eve, told Reuters.

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Krikstaponiene was scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but may now have to go through Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, instead, as the balance of power shifts. Yemeni Airlines told the British carrier on Monday that it will operate a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 7. The airport was under Emirati control.

Socotra, until recently, was accessible by plane from the UAE and offered a peaceful retreat for visitors during the years of conflict in Yemen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has become a regional center for adventure tourism.

Politically part of Yemen, Socotra came under the control of the UAE in 2018 when its military planes landed on the island. Since then, it has become a tourist destination and seen infrastructure growth thanks to Emirati investment.

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

At the same time, its location on the Gulf of Aden, along the shipping lane leading to the Red Sea, makes it strategically desirable to the major powers of the region.

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

“Socotra acts as an unsinkable plane sitting in the heart of the Bab al-Mandab system, in the middle of the trade route connecting Europe, Asia and Africa,” Andreas Krieg, associate professor at King’s College London, told Reuters.

“Even without shooting, an actor with confidence who has access to the island gains significant power: observation, deterrence and impact of the project,” he continued. “On an island where air access is often a critical gateway, the influence over communication changes to influence everything else, including security presence, local governance, and commercial life.”

Yemen is facing one of the worst disasters in the world. Visiting Socotra poses a risk due to its proximity to the mainland, despite being isolated by civil war.

Global News contacted Global Affairs Canada for more information and to confirm that any visitor in need is Canadian.

– With files from Reuters

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