Swapping Roles, Sharing of Influence: Saudi-Emirati Scheme to Control Mahrah and Socotra

Far from what is called the legitimate government, the pro-aggression government, this war is aimed at sharing influence between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, even by obtaining a small amount in the provinces of Al-Mahrah and Socotra, after the great failure to control the whole of Yemen during five years of war.

 

Coinciding with the Saudi escalation aimed at controlling the seaports in Al-Mahrah, the UAE is intensifying its continuous colonial efforts to control Socotra, which indicates a dangerous exchange of roles between the two greedy countries in Yemen.

 

Al-Mahrah

 

In the wake of the dispute over the expansion of influence, Saudi Arabia managed at the end of 2018 to displace the Emirati role from Al-Mahrah and withdraw the Emirati force from Al-Ghaydah Airport, to be replaced by Saudi forces to control the border outlets with Oman, after the Emirati failure to confront Al-Mahrah people during 3 years of the Emirati presence in the province.

 

In the same way, Saudi Arabia followed the approach of the UAE, taking the pretexts of fighting extremist groups, preventing the smuggling of drugs and weapons and sending aid to control the province, but all these claims did not work with Al-Mahrah people, which forced the Saudi militias to use force to control Shahan port recently.

 

In this regard, the official of the external communication for the Mahrah sit-in, Ahmed Belhaf, confirmed in a television interview with Al-Jazeera Wednesday that the Saudi forces are striving to suffocate the Mahrah province and besiege it economically since they arrived there.

 

He said that Saudi Arabia wants to control Shahan port since it came to Al-Mahrah province, despite saying that it came to support the legitimate government. “The reality confirms that Saudi Arabia has only hijacked the legitimate government in Riyadh, and did not provide anything to Yemen except war and destruction.”

 

“Saudi Arabia is an occupying force present in Al-Mahrah. The people of the province reject this unjustified presence and demand its exit, and the justifications for smuggling are false fabrications,” he added.

 

After all the pretexts that Saudi Arabia praises in supporting Al-Mahrah, Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition, came to say, “The coalition is countering attempts to undermine the security of Al-Mahrah province” – a sign of the neutralization of the Omani state in the Al-Mahrah events – at a time when the Saudi forces continues its occupation by force of arms.

 

Al-Mahra Province Deputy, Ali Salem Al-Harizi revealed in advance on Wednesday that all the ports of Al-Mahrah onshore and offshore are under Saudi occupation, stressing that the recent Shahan port events are the result of full Saudi control of the land ports as Shahan port, Sarfit port and Nashtoon port.

“Al-Mahrah people resorted to the peaceful and legitimate protest, to prevent the actions of the Saudi side that provoke citizens and clash with their interests and rights,” Al-Harizi added. Pointing out that the citizens tried to prevent the Saudis from reaching the port, and there were verbal quarrels that developed into armed clashes with large Saudi forces, consisting of some units from the military police, the rapid intervention battalion, and Saudi forces that arrived at Shahan, after clashes with citizens defending the sovereignty and independence of the country.

 

Socotra

 

After the noticeable absence of the Emirati role in Al-Mahrah following the entry of Saudi forces at the end of 2018, the UAE’s ambitions to expand in Socotra increased day by day in light of turning a blind eye on Saudi Arabia, which proves an exchange of roles in an organized way to control Socotra and Mahrah separately.

 

Coinciding with the recent Mahrah events, Socotra witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of militias affiliated with the Emirates on Monday, following the rejection of Colonel Hussein Shaif, the leader of the so-called Southern Transitional, a decision to dismiss him from the Hadi government.

 

In this regard, the activist Balhaf indicated that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are sharing influence in Yemen, “While Saudi Arabia is expanding in Al-Mahrah, the UAE is striving to control Socotra.”

 

Earlier, the provinces of Socotra and Mahrah were far from the scene of the conflict in Yemen, but this did not absolve them from the obsession of Saudi and Emirati greed in Yemen.

al-Masirah.net