"The UAE has occupied the airport and seaport of Socotra island, despite the Yemeni government's presence there. What the UAE is doing in Socotra is an act of aggression," Yemeni officials said.
Residents of the island are angry over the UAE's "occupation".
Socotra sits at the exit of a bustling shipping lane that leads from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has been spared the violence that has ravaged mainland Yemen.
Yemenis say the move shows the real intentions of Saudi Arabia and its allies for invading their country back in 2015.
The Saudi-led war was launched in March 2015 to reinstate a former fugitive president who was loyal to Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition has failed to achieve that goal despite its superior military power, and has been bogged down in a Vietnam-style quagmire.
