[News] New airstrip on Yemeni island raises concerns of ‘military buildup’ against Ansarallah

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  New airstrip on Yemeni island raises concerns of ‘military buildup’
  against Ansarallah

The UAE has expanded its network of military and espionage sites on 
Yemen’s islands in cooperation with Israel

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

OCT 20, 2025 - 
https://thecradle.co/articles/new-airstrip-on-yemeni-island-raises-concerns-of-military-buildup-against-ansarallah


(Photo credit: Planet Labs PBC via AP)

A new airstrip is being built on the island of Zuqar off the coast of 
Yemen, according to satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC published on 
20 October by AP.

The strip is likely being established to counter the Ansarallah movement 
and Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF), analysts and journalists said.

It could also bolster intelligence and surveillance 
<https://thecradle.co/articles/yemen-rises-as-the-decisive-front-in-the-US-Israel-bid-for-regional-control> 
capabilities against Sanaa’s forces, as part of a network of military 
and espionage sites across the islands surrounding Yemen – built by the 
UAE with help from Israel.

Abu Dhabi and Yemen’s Saudi and Emirati-backed governments did not 
respond to questions from AP 
<https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-zuqar-island-airstrip-uae-c8c0182307ccefcb3f51854493f3ae00> 
about whether the strip could be used for a broad military campaign.

The airstrip is 2,000 meters long and lies 90 kilometers from the port 
city of Hodeidah, which has been struck repeatedly by Israel in recent 
months.

The images reveal that work on the airstrip began in April. By August, 
asphalt being laid out, and the work is continuing until now.

A UAE-based firm, Saif Shipping and Marine Services, acknowledged 
receiving an order to deliver the asphalt to Zuqar. Other UAE-based 
maritime companies have, in the past, been linked to airstrip projects 
near Yemen.

“On Zuqar Island in the Red Sea, opposite the city of Al-Hodeidah in 
Yemen, there is a military buildup against the Yemeni Armed Forces. We 
observe the construction of a new runway for the landing and takeoff of 
military aircraft,” said Yemeni journalist Ahmad Salman in a post on X.

Eleonora Ardemagni, analyst at the Italian Institute for International 
Political Studies, told AP that “the possibility of a new Yemeni 
offensive against the Houthis, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, can’t 
be ruled out, although I don’t see it as approaching.”

“There’s a more important point in my view regarding the buildup in 
Zuqar: the countering of Houthis’ smuggling activities, with particular 
regard to weapons,” she added.

Earlier this month, satellite images revealed 
<https://thecradle.co/articles/satellite-images-show-rapid-escalation-of-uae-israeli-spy-bases-near-yemen> 
that the network of Emirati military and intelligence bases built by the 
UAE across Yemen’s islands and areas on the coast of Somalia has expanded.

These sites have solidified UAE dominance over the waterways 
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/916> near Yemen in the last few years, 
particularly the ones established on the Socotra archipelago in 
cooperation with Israel.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia began a brutal war against Yemen at the head of a 
coalition of Gulf states including the UAE.

The war raged on for 10 years, resulting in famine and the killing of 
over 150,000 Yemenis. While the conflict has subsided, Yemeni main ports 
and airports remain under blockade and the hunger crisis has persisted.

The areas not under control of Ansarallah are administered by the 
Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the separatist, 
Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The continued expansion of military and intelligence installations 
around Yemen comes as Tel Aviv is gearing up to continue attacks against 
Ansarallah 
<https://thecradle.co/articles/israeli-army-launches-recruitment-campaign-in-yemen-targeting-ansarallah-opponents> 
and Yemeni army – despite Sanaa halting its military operations against 
Israel after the ceasefire was announced in Gaza.

Hebrew news outlet Channel 12 reported last week that “intense 
discussions within the security establishment recently led to separating 
the Yemen front from that of Gaza, allowing military action against 
Yemen to continue post-ceasefire.”

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