Yemeni PM says row over Socotra island resolved

AFP  |  Aden 

Yemeni announced today that a dispute over the island of sparked after the deployment of troops has been resolved.

"The crisis on the island is over," Bin Dagher wrote on Facebook, adding that the crisis had "almost divided" the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels.

The announcement came a day after Saudi troops were deployed to the strategic island following tensions between Yemen's internationally recognised government and the UAE, a key member of the coalition.

Dagher's comments come after an agreement was signed last evening with the and Saudi Arabia, both part of the coalition, according to the Yemeni state agency

Under the deal the two countries' troops will withdraw from and Yemeni forces will be stationed at the island's airport and port, the agency reported.

The crisis was triggered after the of protested the deployment of troops to the island.

A government source confirmed to AFP that Emirati soldiers were deployed to earlier this month without the approval of

The presence of troops angered Socotra residents, who insisted there were no rebels on the island, the source said.

Socotra had been spared involvement in the Yemeni conflict, which has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since March 2015 and triggered what the has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, May 14 2018. 18:10 IST