United Arab Emirates occupation of Socotra
| United Arab Emirates occupation of Socotra | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Yemeni crisis and the Yemeni civil war | |||||||||
Yemen
United Arab Emirates
Socotra | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Yemen | United Arab Emirates | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr Ahmed Abdallah Ali al-Socotri |
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Yemen Armed Forces | United Arab Emirates Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 0-200 troops | ||||||||
| Part of a series on the Yemeni crisis |
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On 30 April 2018, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) deployed more than a hundred troops with artillery and armored vehicles to the Yemeni archipelago of Socotra in the Guardafui Channel without prior coordination with the Yemeni government, causing the relations of the two countries to deteriorate. The initial deployment consisted of UAE military aircraft carrying more than fifty UAE soldiers and two armored vehicles, followed by two more aircraft carrying more soldiers, tanks and other armored vehicles. Al Jazeera reported that shortly after landing, UAE forces dismissed Yemeni soldiers stationed at administrative installations such as Socotra Airport and seaports until further notice, and the flag of the United Arab Emirates was raised above at official government buildings in Hadibu. On 14 May an agreement was reached between the UAE and Yemen which saw Yemen regain administrative control and Saudi Arabian troops also being deployed to the island.