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Tourists on remote Yemeni island stranded after Saudi, UAE rift

Middle East News

06-01-2026 | 09:04

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Tourists on remote Yemeni island stranded after Saudi, UAE rift

When the United Arab Emirates withdrew its troops from Yemen last week under a deadline from Saudi Arabia, it also left behind the remote Yemeni island of Socotra and the roughly 600 tourists who had flown in but could no longer fly out.

Air traffic at the island's main airport came to a halt as a deepening crisis between the UAE and Saudi Arabia translated into fresh conflict on Yemen's mainland, where the two Gulf powers now back opposing groups in the country's civil war.

Socotra, which lies more than 300 km (186 miles) south of Yemen's coast, and until recently was mainly accessible by air via the UAE, has been a haven of tranquility through the years of conflict on the mainland.

Reuters

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