
[REUTERS]
UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) “Southern separatists have seized control of Yemen’s island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, deposing its governor and driving out forces of the Saudi-backed government which condemned the action as coup.”
In the Yemen civil war, the “separatists and the government [are] fighting as nominal allies in a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi group, who control the north.”
“Riyadh wants to prevent another front developing in Yemen’s multifaceted war, which has been locked in military stalemate for years.”
“Socotra, a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its unique fauna and flora, is located in the shipping lane linking Asia to the Europe via the Red sea and Suez Canal.”
Read more: Yemen separatists seize remote Socotra island from Saudi-backed government
2021-week22