Talk:Socotra

Reports UAE/Isaeli intel center

 * UAE and Israel to establish spy base in Yemen Island - Middle East Monitor, August 28, 2020
 * This apparently quotes this article, which self-identifies as a portal of French-speaking Jews.
 * Note on quoted source. It is common for Jewish and Israeli sources to publish accusations leveled at them, whether or not it is felt it is true. It may be like, OK, you also blame us with this, especially if it is over the top (JFK? Asteroid which wiped out dinosaurs? etc). Or it may be unknown whether it's true or not, but published, in a similar spirit, regardless. (So if it's accidentally something good, if it ever happened, it may come across as irony). In this case, they quote a "high-ranking Eritrean source" from 2016, and "an expert al-Askar." And it is really goes like, FWIW. Also this is a French site, they are unlikely to have any insider information, like tips from Israeli government on what is or is not true and should or should not be published. --Resup (talk) 17:46, 29 August 2020 (UTC)


 * It may be just chatter that has been overblown due to recent news cycle. But there have been reports of UAE developing its communications capability there previously. The story does need to be corroborated. MEMO should have done more there. Some more on bases on the horn of Africa including Assab, Eritrea --Diagonal (talk) 10:24, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

Sept 7: JForum respond to a Jerusalem Post article by noting that their source was this Israeli website

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''Here's the old, restored article. There is no assercance that the information is indeed relevant even today. An Israeli intelligence base in Eritrea. (I will go ahead and say that all the material in this article originated from visible Arab sources)

'''Israeli intelligence base in Eritrea. Interest: The Red Sea and the sector from Yemen east and north. The details.'''

A senior Erierior source claims that Israel has begun building its largest front intelligence base in the Red Sea Basin and the strategic area overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait region. The base aims to "electronically monitor" Allied Islamic State forces led by Saudi Arabia and operations in Yemen. The source stressed to the Palestinian Center for Research that the Israeli front intelligence observation base was built on the summit of Mount Ambasweire – "EMBA SOIRA, near the town of Sanaafi, about 135 km south of the Eritrean capital -Asmera . The summit is more than 3,000 meters above sea level. East African affairs expert Dr. Osama al-Askar claims that the Israeli front intelligence base aims to monitor the strategic Bab al-Mandab Egyptians and keep the Egyptians from becoming a threat to Israeli interests in the southern Red Sea, especially the Israeli merchant ship movement. The al-Shakar expert also claims that the Israeli intelligence base will also deal with an electronic (electronic) observation of Islamic State allied forces fighting in Yemen against deposed President Saleh and the Shiite militias, as well as overseeing Iranian naval movements in the region that have become intense in the wake of the events in Yemen and Iran's attempts to step up operations in Eritrea after it was ousted from neighboring Sudan. The Israeli intelligence base will also focus on analyzing maritime and air traffic in the southern Red Sea, especially after Saudi-led Islamist Alliance forces have hired a port in Eritrea to strengthen their logistics and base for their emergency evacuation operations. The Israeli base will also deal with "monitoring" Sudan, which Israel accuses of aiding the supply of weapons to the Palestinian resistance (Hamas in Gaza).''

Historical Russian strategic presence?
''Russia with the FAPSI-GRU surveillance facility at the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen’s Ras Karma Military Airbase, near QaDub on Socotra Island which lies opposite the coast of Somalia at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean. This facility allows intercept of signals from Afghanistan and Diego Garcia.'' MilitaryWIkia

...stills leaves Russia with the FAPSI-GRU surveillance facility at the People�s Democratic Republic of Yemen�s Ras Karma Military Airbase, near QaDub on Socotra Island which lies opposite the coast of Somalia at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean. Aleksey Scherbakov