“A mysterious airbase is being built on a volcanic island off Yemen that sits in one of the world’s crucial maritime chokepoints for energy shipments and commercial cargo. […] Mayun, also known as Perim Island, sits two miles off the south-western edge of Yemen.”
“While no country has claimed the Mayun Island airbase in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, shipping traffic associated with a prior attempt to build a massive runway across the 3.5-mile-long island years ago links back to the United Arab Emirates.”
“Officials in Yemen’s internationally recognised government say the Emiratis are behind this latest effort as well, even though the UAE announced in 2019 it was withdrawing its troops from a Saudi-led military campaign battling Yemen’s Houthi rebels.”
““This does seem to be a longer-term strategic aim to establish a relatively permanent presence,” said Jeremy Binnie, the Middle East editor of the open-source intelligence company Janes, who has followed construction on Mayun for years. He said it was “possibly not just about the Yemen war and you’ve got to see the shipping situation as fairly key there”.”
“The runway on Mayun Island allows whoever controls it to project power into the strait and easily launch airstrikes into mainland Yemen, convulsed by a bloody, years-long war. It also provides a base for any operations into the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and nearby east Africa.”
“Military officials with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which the Saudi-led coalition has backed since 2015, said the UAE was building the runway. The officials, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity as they didn’t have authorisation to brief journalists, said Emirati ships had transported military weapons, equipment and troops to Mayun Island in recent weeks.”
“The apparent decision by the Emiratis to resume building the airbase comes after the UAE dismantled parts of a military base it ran in the east African nation of Eritrea as a staging ground for its Yemen campaign.”
Read more: Mysterious airbase being built on volcanic island off Yemen
Related: Latest Updates on Yemen, 27 May 2021
2021-week22
