New information obtained by Sheba Intelligence indicates that Yemeni fighters previously trained in the UAE, alongside Shabwani Elite elements, have arrived at a Somaliland camp as part of maritime and coastal preparations linked to Socotra and Bab al-Mandab security.

      Sheba Intelligence has obtained new information indicating that UAE-linked Yemeni forces are undergoing maritime preparations and military training in Somaliland, as part of arrangements believed to be connected to a possible move toward Yemen’s Socotra Island and an attempt to seize control of it.

According to the information, a camp in Somaliland, previously identified by Sheba Intelligence as being used to train forces linked to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, has received new batches of Yemeni recruits and military personnel in recent days.

The information says that one of these groups arrived from the United Arab Emirates, where its members had previously undergone training, before being transferred to the Somaliland camp under the supervision of Wajdi Baoum, commander of the Second Shabwa Defense Brigade. The camp also received elements from the Shabwani Elite Forceswho had been inside Yemen, led by Mohsen Lahoul Al-Khalifi.

The new movements, according to the information, are not limited to ground training. They also include maritime and coastal preparations, including training personnel for movement, deployment, and operations related to islands and coastal areas. This reinforces the assessment that Somaliland is being used as a rear training and regrouping zone for Yemeni forces operating outside Yemeni territory.

These developments build on a previous Sheba Intelligence report titled “Somaliland Becomes a Shadow Training Ground for the Houthis and UAE-Linked Forces,” which indicated that Somaliland had become an undeclared training ground for multiple forces, including elements linked to the Houthis and others connected to the UAE and Yemeni forces aligned with it.

The previous report cited information about training arrangements inside Somaliland, including locations in the Golis Mountains area near Odweyne in the Togdheer region, as well as camps receiving Yemeni and African elements in a geographic environment suitable for training, concealment, and movement away from direct oversight.

The new information is significant because it connects three sensitive files: Socotra, Somaliland, and maritime security, particularly Bab al-Mandab. Socotra occupies a strategic location between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while Somaliland sits across the African side of this maritime space. This makes any organized military activity in the area directly relevant to influence operations around Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea.

Sheba Intelligence sources view these movements within the broader context of regional arrangements that followed the expansion of UAE-Israeli cooperation in maritime security, ports, and strategic corridors. While there is no official declaration directly linking these trainings to any Israeli party, the nature of the positioning in Somaliland, the focus on Socotra, and the timing amid intensifying competition over maritime routes make the file closely connected to Bab al-Mandab security and shipping lines between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

The information suggests that the focus on Socotra reflects an attempt to exploit the island’s geographic position to build a connected maritime sphere of influence between southern Yemen, Somaliland, and the Gulf of Aden. The transfer of personnel previously trained in the UAE to camps in Somaliland also points to a more advanced phase of regrouping and preparation compared with limited or local training operations inside Yemen.

Sheba Intelligence was unable to obtain independent comment from the parties mentioned regarding the nature of these trainings or their final objectives. However, the simultaneous arrival of forces coming from the UAE and elements from the Shabwani Elite Forces at Somaliland camps reinforces earlier information published by the platform about the use of the area as a rear training base for Yemeni forces linked to regional agendas.

Yemeni sources believe that any military move toward Socotra would represent a dangerous development in the Yemeni conflict. It would not only affect sovereignty over a strategic island, but could also shift the conflict in southern Yemen from a local power struggle into a broader contest linked to maritime influence networks, Bab al-Mandab security, and regional alignments stretching across both shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.