...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Socotra island has become the center of a power struggle between the Yemeni government and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC). Tensions have been running high, especially since two government battalions defected last month and joined the STC. The defections clearly indicate that Socotra is contested and polarization will continue, despite Saudi-led peace efforts in Yemen’s south.
Moreover, more US Marines arrived on the island March 7, raising new speculation that the United States wants to establish a military base there. Some Marines also had deployed in December to the island southeast of Yemen's coast.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of a Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 to fight Yemen's Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels. But coalition relations became strained as the UAE began supporting the STC's movement to secede. The Saudis want a united Yemen.
Tensions continued to escalate this month. On March 2, STC and UAE forces reportedly kept Saudi military forces from entering the southern port city of Aden. On March 12, the coalition denied STC leaders permission to land in Aden as they prepared to return from Jordan. Then, on March 15, STC and UAE forces allegedly closed off the presidential palace in Aden and refused to allow Yemeni government officials to meet there.