Yemen: UAE, Israel occupying Mayyun Island to exploit its strategic position

A senior Yemeni official says the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Israeli regime are occupying the Yemeni volcanic island of Mayyun in the Strait of Mandeb — which lies at the southern entrance to the Red Sea — to exploit its strategic geographic position.

Member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Ahmed al-Rahwi told the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that the forced displacement of people from the island, also known as Perim, points to a scheme aimed at asserting overwhelming dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Rahwi said former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shortly after the Saudi-led devastating military campaign against Yemen, said the strategic importance of the Bab el-Mandeb lies in its geographic position.

“Over the past years, the UAE has aggressively sought to displace the islanders and construct a military installation [on Mayyun island] in line with US and Israeli orders,” the Yemeni official said.

“Aggressors (member states of the Saudi-led coalition) must learn lessons from the past. We (Yemenis) have, on various occasions, proven our might while confronting the occupiers. We will once again demonstrate such a power in Mayyun, and will take effective measures,” Rahwi said.

Back in late May, US research group the Brookings Institute reported that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were quietly consolidating their foothold in Yemen by setting up bases in strategic locations in the war-torn country.

According to Brookings, the Saudis have focused their attention on the eastern Province of al-Mahrah with 300,000 residents.

Riyadh, which currently has 20 bases and outposts in al-Mahrah, took control of the province in 2017 after occupying its capital and port as well as the border posts with Oman.

ME