Amid Houthi threats, a mysterious airstrip appears on Yemeni island

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite.

The airstrip on Abd al-Kuri Island, which rises out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, could provide a key landing zone for military operations patrolling that waterway. That could be useful as commercial shipping through the Gulf and Red Sea — a key route for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe — has halved under attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels . The area also has seen weapons smuggling from Iran to the rebels .

The runway is likely built by the United Arab Emirates, which has long been suspected of expanding its military presence in the region and has backed a Saudi-led war against the Houthis.

While the Houthis have linked their campaign to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip , experts worry a ceasefire in that conflict may not be enough to see the rebels halt a campaign that’s drawn them global attention. Meanwhile, the Houthis have lobbed repeated attacks at Israel, as well as U.S. warships operating in the Red Sea , raising fears that one may make it through and endanger the lives of American service members.

A battlefield miscalculation by Yemen’s many adversarial parties, new fatal attacks on Israel or a deadly assault on an American warship could easily shatter the country’s relative calm. And it remains unclear just how President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated Monday, will handle the emboldened rebel group.

“The Houthis feed off war — war is good for them,” said Wolf-Christian Paes, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who studies Yemen. “Finally they can live up to their slogan, which famously, of course, declares, ‘Death to America, death to the Jews.’ They see themselves as being in this epic battle against their archenemies and from their view, they're winning.”

Satellite images show airstrip nearly complete

Satellite photos taken Jan. 7 by Planet Labs PBC for AP show trucks and other heavy equipment on the north-south runway built into Abd al-Kuri, which is about 21 miles in length and about 3 miles at its widest point.

The runway has been paved, with the designation markings “18” and “36″ to the airstrip’s north and south, respectively. As of Jan. 7, there was still a segment missing from the 1.5-mile-long runway that’s 150 feet wide. Trucks could be seen grading and laying asphalt over the missing 950-foot segment.

Once completed, the runway’s length would allow private jets and other aircraft to land there, though likely not the largest commercial aircraft or heavy bombers given its length.

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows an airstrip on Abd al-Kuri Island in Yemen on Jan. 7. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

While within Houthi drone and missile range, the distance of Abd al-Kuri from mainland Yemen means “there’s no threat of the Houthis getting on a pickup truck or a technical and going to seize it," said Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.

The United Nations’ Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, which assigns its own set of airport codes for airfields around the world, had no information about the airstrip on Abd al-Kuri, spokesman William Raillant-Clark said. Yemen, as a member state to ICAO, should provide information about the airfield to the organization. Nearby Socotra Island already has an airport declared to the ICAO.

It’s not the only airfield to see an expansion in recent years. In Mocha on the Red Sea, a project to extend that city’s airport now allows it to land far larger aircraft. Local officials attributed that project to the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The airfield also sits on a similar north-south path as the Abd al-Kuri airstrip and is roughly the same length.

Other satellite photos from Planet Labs show yet another unclaimed runway currently under construction just south of Mocha near Dhubab, a coastal town in Yemen’s Taiz governorate. An image taken by Planet for AP on Thursday showed the runway fully built, though no markings were painted on it.

A key location for a country riven by war

Abd al-Kuri is part of the Socotra Archipelago, separated from Africa by only 60 miles and from Yemen by some 250 miles. In the last decade of the Cold War, the archipelago occasionally hosted Soviet warships due to its strategic location.

In recent years, the island has been overseen by Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, which advocates for Yemen to again split into a separate north and south as it was during the Cold War. The UAE has backed and armed the council as part of the Saudi-led war against the Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

The UAE, home to the massive Jebel Ali port in Dubai and the logistic firm DP World, previously built a base in Eritrea that was later dismantled and attempted to build an airstrip on Mayun, or Perim, Island , in the center of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

But unlike those efforts, the Emiratis appear likely to open the Abd al-Kuri airstrip — and have even signed their work. Just east of the runway, piles of dirt there have spelled out “I LOVE UAE” for months.

An Emirati-flagged landing craft also was spotted off the coast of Abd al-Kuri in January 2024 and off Socotra multiple other times in the year, according to data analyzed by AP from MarineTraffic.com. That vessel previously has been associated with the UAE’s military operations in Yemen.

The airstrip's construction comes as Houthi rebels have continued their attacks on commercial shipping, U.S. warships and Israel over the war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Here, a Houthi supporter holds a mock missile during a 2024 protest in the Gaza Strip. (Osamah Abdulrahman/AP)

The UAE, which runs a once-a-week flight to Socotra via Abu Dhabi, has long described its efforts as aimed at getting aid to the archipelago. Asked for comment about the Abd al-Kuri airfield, the UAE similarly pointed to its aid operations.

“Any presence of the UAE … is based on humanitarian grounds that is carried out in cooperation with the Yemen government and local authorities,” the Emirati government said in a statement.

“The UAE remains steadfast in its commitment to all international endeavors aimed at facilitating the resumption of the Yemeni political process, thereby advancing the security, stability and prosperity sought by the Yemeni populace.”

The Emirates on Friday also prominently marked the third anniversary of a 2022 Houthi missile attack on Abu Dhabi that killed three people at a fuel depot. The country’s leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, wrote on the social media platform X that the day is “when we remember the strength, resilience and solidarity of the people of the UAE.”

The Southern Transitional Council and officials with Yemen’s exiled government did not respond to repeated requests for comments over the airfield. The UAE’s presence on Socotra has sparked tensions in the past , something the Houthis have used to portray the Emiratis as trying to colonize the island.

“This plan represents a serious violation of Yemeni sovereignty and threatens the sovereignty of several neighboring countries through the espionage and sabotage operations it is expected to carry out,” the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency said in November.

Smuggling route passes by the island

A new airport on Abd al-Kuri could provide a new, secluded landing zone for surveillance flights around Socotra Island. That could be vital to interdict weapons smuggling from Iran to the Houthis, who remain under a U.N. arms embargo.

A report to the U.N. Security Council said a January 2024 weapons seizure by the U.S. military took place off Socotra near Abd al-Kuri. That seizure, which saw two U.S. Navy SEALs lost at sea and presumed killed , involved a traditional dhow vessel that U.S. prosecutors say was involved in multiple smuggling trips on behalf of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to the Houthis.

Disrupting that weapons route, as well as the ongoing attacks by the U.S., Israel and others on the Houthis, likely have contributed to the slowing pace of the rebels’ attacks in recent months. The U.S. and its partners alone have struck the Houthis over 260 times, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Next week, Trump will be the one to decide what happens to that campaign. He has experience already with how difficult fighting in Yemen can be — his first military action in his first term in 2017 saw a Navy SEAL killed in a raid on a suspected al-Qaida compound . The raid also killed more than a dozen civilians, including an 8-year-old girl.

Trump may reapply a foreign terrorist organization designation on the Houthis that Biden revoked , a reimposition that the UAE backs. Marco Rubio, who Trump has nominated to be secretary of state, mentioned the Houthis several times when testifying Wednesday at his Senate confirmation hearing alongside what he described as threats from Iran and its allies.

Any U.S. move could escalate the war, even with the Houthi's enigmatic supreme leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, pledging Thursday night to halt the rebels' attacks if a ceasefire deal is reached in Gaza.

“I don’t see a way in 2025 that we have a de-escalation with the Houthis,” said al-Basha, the Yemen expert. “The situation in Yemen is very tense. An outbreak in the war could be a reality in the next few months. I don’t foresee the status quo continuing.”

阿联酋迪拜——美联社分析的卫星照片显示，也门一座偏远岛屿上正在修建的一条神秘简易机场即将完工。这条简易机场是也门境内修建的几条简易机场之一，而也门正深陷僵局的战争之中，这场战争随时可能再次爆发。

阿卜杜勒·库里岛上的简易机场位于亚丁湾入口附近的印度洋中，可为巡逻该水道的军事行动提供重要的着陆区。由于也门胡塞武装（伊朗支持的武装组织）的袭击，途经海湾和红海的商业航运——这条航线是货物和能源运往欧洲的重要通道——已减少了一半，因此该简易机场可能发挥重要作用。此外，该地区还存在从伊朗向胡塞武装走私武器的情况。

这条跑道很可能是由阿拉伯联合酋长国建造的，该国长期以来一直被怀疑扩大其在该地区的军事存在，并支持沙特阿拉伯领导的打击胡塞武装的战争。

尽管胡塞武装已将其行动与加沙地带的以色列-哈马斯战争联系起来，但专家担心，加沙冲突的停火可能不足以促使胡塞武装停止这场已引起全球关注的行动。与此同时，胡塞武装多次袭击以色列以及在红海活动的美国军舰，令人担忧的是，袭击可能会突破封锁线，危及美国军人的生命。

也门各方敌对势力在战场上的误判、对以色列的新一轮致命袭击，或是对美国军舰的致命袭击，都可能轻易打破也门相对平静的局势。而即将于周一就职的候任总统唐纳德·特朗普将如何应对日益壮大的反叛组织，目前仍不明朗。

“胡塞武装靠战争壮大——战争对他们有利，”国际战略研究所高级研究员、也门问题专家沃尔夫-克里斯蒂安·佩斯说。“他们终于可以兑现他们的口号了，那句著名的口号当然是‘美国去死，犹太人去死’。他们认为自己正与宿敌进行一场史诗般的战斗，而且在他们看来，他们正在取得胜利。”

卫星图像显示简易机场跑道已接近完工

1 月 7 日，Planet Labs PBC 为美联社拍摄的卫星照片显示，卡车和其他重型设备停放在阿卜杜勒·库里机场的南北向跑道上。该跑道长约 21 英里，最宽处约 3 英里。

跑道已铺设完毕，跑道北侧和南侧分别标有“18”和“36”的编号。截至1月7日，这条长1.5英里、宽150英尺的跑道仍有一段缺失。可以看到卡车正在平整和铺设沥青，以填补缺失的950英尺长的跑道。

建成后，这条跑道的长度足以让私人飞机和其他飞机在那里降落，但考虑到它的长度，可能不适合最大的商用飞机或重型轰炸机。

这张由Planet Labs PBC提供的卫星照片显示了1月7日也门阿卜杜勒库里岛上的一条简易机场跑道。（Planet Labs PBC via AP）

巴沙报告风险咨询公司的也门问题专家穆罕默德·巴沙表示，虽然阿卜杜勒·库里在胡塞武装无人机和导弹的射程之内，但由于它距离也门大陆较远，“胡塞武装不会开着皮卡车或技术车辆去占领它”。

总部位于蒙特利尔的联合国国际民用航空组织（ICAO）发言人威廉·雷兰特-克拉克表示，该组织没有关于阿卜杜勒·库里简易机场的信息。ICAO负责为世界各地的机场分配一套机场代码。也门作为ICAO成员国，理应向该组织提供机场信息。附近的索科特拉岛已向ICAO申报了一个机场。

近年来扩建的机场不止这一家。在红海沿岸的摩卡，一项机场扩建工程使该机场能够起降更大的飞机。当地官员将该项目归功于阿联酋，阿联酋是由七个酋长国组成的联邦，阿布扎比和迪拜均位于其中。该机场的南北走向与阿卜杜勒·库里机场相似，长度也大致相同。

Planet Labs提供的其他卫星照片显示，在也门塔伊兹省沿海城镇杜巴布附近，摩卡以南还有一条正在建设中的无人认领的跑道。Planet Labs周四为美联社拍摄的一张照片显示，这条跑道已经建成，但上面没有任何标记。

对于一个饱受战争蹂躏的国家来说，这是一个关键地点。

阿卜杜勒·库里是索科特拉群岛的一部分，距离非洲大陆仅60英里，距离也门约250英里。在冷战的最后十年里，由于其战略位置，该群岛偶尔会驻扎苏联军舰。

近年来，该岛一直由也门南方过渡委员会控制。该委员会主张也门像冷战时期那样再次分裂为南北两部分。阿联酋支持并武装了该委员会，参与了由沙特阿拉伯领导的打击胡塞武装的战争。胡塞武装于2014年占领了也门首都萨那。

阿联酋是迪拜杰贝阿里港和物流公司迪拜环球港务集团的所在地，此前曾在厄立特里亚建立基地，后来该基地被拆除，并试图在位于红海和亚丁湾之间具有战略意义的曼德海峡中心的马云岛（又称佩里姆岛）上修建一条简易机场。

但与之前的努力不同，阿联酋方面似乎很有可能开放阿卜杜勒·库里机场——而且他们甚至已经为此做出了贡献。就在跑道东侧，成堆的泥土几个月来一直拼出了“我爱阿联酋”的字样。

据美联社分析MarineTraffic.com网站的数据显示，一艘悬挂阿联酋国旗的登陆艇于2024年1月在阿卜杜勒库里海岸附近被发现，并在当年多次出现在索科特拉岛附近海域。该船只此前曾与阿联酋在也门的军事行动有关。

在胡塞武装持续袭击商船、美国军舰和以色列之际，这条简易机场正在修建。此次袭击是胡塞武装针对加沙地带哈马斯战争的抗议活动的一部分。图为一名胡塞武装支持者在2024年加沙地带的一次抗议活动中手持模拟导弹。（奥萨马·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼/美联社）

阿联酋每周有一班经阿布扎比飞往索科特拉岛的航班，长期以来一直声称其努力旨在向该群岛提供援助。当被问及阿卜杜勒·库里机场一事时，阿联酋同样强调了其援助行动。

阿联酋政府在一份声明中表示：“阿联酋在也门的任何存在……都是基于人道主义理由，并与也门政府和地方当局合作进行的。”

“阿联酋将继续坚定致力于所有旨在促进也门政治进程恢复的国际努力，从而增进也门人民所追求的安全、稳定和繁荣。”

周五，阿联酋隆重纪念了2022年胡塞武装对阿布扎比一处燃料库发动导弹袭击三周年，那次袭击造成三人死亡。阿联酋最高领导人、阿布扎比酋长国酋长穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬在社交媒体平台X上发文称，这一天是“我们缅怀阿联酋人民的力量、韧性和团结的日子”。

南方过渡委员会和也门流亡政府官员对多次就该机场置评的请求均未作出回应。阿联酋在索科特拉岛的存在过去曾引发紧张局势，胡塞武装也曾以此指责阿联酋试图殖民该岛。

胡塞武装控制的萨巴通讯社在11月表示：“该计划严重侵犯了也门主权，并通过预计将要进行的间谍和破坏行动威胁到几个邻国的主权。”

走私路线经过该岛

阿卜杜勒·库里新建的机场可以为索科特拉岛周边的侦察飞行提供一个新的、隐蔽的着陆区。这对于拦截从伊朗向胡塞武装走私武器至关重要，胡塞武装目前仍处于联合国武器禁运之下。

提交给联合国安理会的一份报告称，2024年1月，美军在索科特拉岛阿卜杜勒库里附近海域查获了一批武器。此次查获行动中，两名美国海军海豹突击队员失踪，据信已遇难。涉案的一艘传统阿拉伯帆船，被美国检察官指控曾多次代表伊朗革命卫队向胡塞武装走私武器。

切断这条武器运输路线，以及美国、以色列和其他国家对胡塞武装持续不断的打击，很可能是导致近几个月来胡塞武装袭击速度放缓的原因之一。据国际战略研究所统计，仅美国及其盟友就已对胡塞武装发动了超过260次打击。

下周，特朗普将决定这场战役的走向。他已经体会过也门战事的艰难——2017年，在他第一个任期内发起的首次军事行动中，一名海豹突击队员在突袭一处疑似基地组织据点时丧生。那次突袭还造成十几名平民死亡，其中包括一名8岁女童。

特朗普可能会重新将胡塞武装列为外国恐怖组织，而拜登此前已撤销了这一认定。阿联酋支持重新实施这一认定。特朗普提名的国务卿人选马可·卢比奥周三在参议院确认听证会上作证时多次提及胡塞武装，并称伊朗及其盟友构成了威胁。

即使胡塞武装神秘的最高领导人阿卜杜勒-马利克·胡塞周四晚间承诺，如果加沙达成停火协议，他将停止叛军的袭击，但美国的任何举动都可能导致战争升级。

“我认为2025年内我们不可能与胡塞武装达成缓和协议，”也门问题专家巴沙说。“也门局势非常紧张。未来几个月内，战争可能再次爆发。我不认为现状会持续下去。”