one hundred eighty eight twenty three people were killed after separatists kidnapped french security officers and aid workers in kenya say they are only a quarter of nearly fifty thousand families in need of shelter after weeks of torrential rain it's estimated that more than one hundred people have died as the flooding spreads the red cross says it doesn't have enough money to cover its emergency operations those are your headlines we're back with more news here on al-jazeera after inside story with us until now in the coverage of latin america most of the world was covering khuda taz tragedy quakes and that was it but not how people feel how they look how they see and that's what we do we go anywhere five and a half months of demanding a good education system that was introduced. in latin america has come to fill a void that needed to be filled. the u.a.e.

has deployed more soldiers in yemen's remote island of subcontracts the gulf country has been expanding its influence not just in southern yemen but across the red sea and horn of africa region so what's behind this military build up this is inside story. hello welcome to the program i'm jane dokken the flag of the united arab emirates has been raised over public buildings and yemen's remote island off so cock sure that's near somalia's northeastern coast some local say it is a power grab at the expense of the internationally recognized government led by the president wants a hottie and the how to government says the u.a.e.

action is an act of hostility formally they are allies in the saudi led war against the who three rebels in the capital but the u.a.e. has promoted separatists in the south and now calls the shots in large parts of that region and so cut to island will bring i guess a moment but first let's go topless as this report. showing support for yemen's prime minister. hundreds of yemenis took to the streets of the quarter as the u.a.e. boost its presence in this remote on the gulf region. the united arab emirates flew in soldiers along with tanks and armored vehicles the shown here setting up a security cordon having expelled local troops from the airport yemeni government sources of since confirmed to al-jazeera that u.a.e. troops have also taken control of the main port and denied the yemeni prime minister and most of his cabinet permission to leave situated off the coast of somalia and the unesco heritage site known to many as the galapagos of the indian

ocean is famous for its unusual wildlife and scenery but with a three thousand meter long runway ideal for fighter jets and large military aircraft the island is also situated between the horn of africa and yemen just be on the red sea and some of the busiest sea lanes in the world what they have done here is they have found an island which is very remote from both yemen and somalia very far off the coast but it's very strategically located and it kind of acts as a quasi aircraft carrier in the main over the u.a.e. in the middle of the indian ocean where they can control traffic and obviously to control the traffic you can also give favorable access to the sea lanes to companies that are related to the u.a.e. so it's a military and geopolitical strategy which is very much linked to the economic strategy of you know united arab emirates having already invested heavily in somaliland and expanded the commercial port of beara the uys control of the culture is seen by many is the latest move by the emirates to spread its influence well

beyond its borders people have often remarked on the strategic value of sokoto or there have been speculations that. one power or another might try to actually establish a presence on the island but. with the war in yemen entering its fourth year the u.a.e. now controls much of the south of the country with a strong presence on both sides of the entrance to the red sea and so katra place right in the middle alex go topless inside story. let's get straight to the story and bring in our guests in london via skype mohammed jim as a writer for al could be newspaper and uk said samuel romani research at oxford university and specialist on conflict in yemen in beirut bethen mccann middle east reporter for the independent and author of the first eyewitness report on the u.a.e. in sokoto of a good to have you with us i'm going to come to you first mohammed to make

considering your relationship with the government and your understanding of the way it works what do you make of the fact that the u.a.e. and its chips on psychiatrists have refused to let government delegates including the prime minister leave the island what's going on there what sort of statement is that what i think the it goes back to the. to the relationship that the nickel to relationship between the government his government and the emirates this is the mines also what happened a few months ago in aden when there was a conflict between the soldiers and trolls related to the south and. the transitional council which is supported by the imagery the iraqis and the troops of the government supported by governor his government. now were yesterday and the day before we are facing the same stage of this hidden it's a. conflict between had is and between how do you and the iraqis. but it seems

that. emulates want to expand their control over this island because there is no hope of these there so that they can say we are fighting the whole of these we are supporting the government again the because the this island is in the in the south and it is in the indian ocean exactly that excuse away doesn't it. actually and i'm just a country though that are not there anyway although. troops in so-called. yemenis loyal to the yemeni government. governed by. but from the minorities point of view i think they won this important land or it's on science in the country it is they want this in all it's it's it's in the middle like in the middle between the gulf and the african and it's the marquis's want to present

themselves as a mediator between the west and the east and this island is very important strategically for emirates ok just hold on let me just bring in samuel ramani if i may to just go back to what we saw happen in the last couple of hours most recent developments stopping this government delegation from leaving i mean do you agree that this is just part of the fallout between the u.a.e. and the had a government isn't a real statement that doesn't matter where you are or was it just easy pickings for them on a psychiatrist. i think it is a sign of a major volley average in the u.a.e. and the heavy government because the u.a.e. has lost confidence in heavies ability to restore stability and to restore a secular state d.m. and that's what his primary goal is how he is not as he does it central victory over the who doesn't see it in them that was over two years ago. initially cassar lot with salai when sally died in december they cast their lot with us all the many

separatists who are directly combating with abby and now as a cutter they're finding another avenue and yet another place is gigli important in the heart of africa and in yemen to conflict against a heavy government i think the sign of the u.a.e. and saudi arabia have broadly disagreed over how the long term viability of the u.a.e. believe is not viable and the loss of legitimacy in his home region across the country whereas had to be believes he is the only pepin job or against iranian expansion in the country biffen mckernan do you see this is a statement of u.a.e. growing dominance and control in yemen and i think so i think part of the reason the culture is so fascinating is it's this mix of the both hot on soft power strategies both in yemen and in the widest sort of horn of africa region the fact that the prime minister and his dedication happening been allowed to leave according to yemeni media reports in the last day was to read a sign from the u.a.e. that they are here to stay the unloading of heavy heavy artillery on the island for

the first time again is very much flexing its muscle and showing that they have designs which is definitely odds with the government even though on paper they are allies in the fight against these on the mainland. it's due to you that we have a lot of this knowledge of what's happening on you've managed to find out about the u.a.e. troop build up and possibly more about the intentions so tell us what it is that you saw from a military point of view and what do you see as this strategy that. from a military point of view there's at least one base on the island that's not new information the u.s. did admit in may last year what is not known is who exactly is operating from there we know that the troops are sent there for intensive first aid and battlefield training and then they go on to fights on the mainland it's not clear whether there are any specialized troops whether there are any secret black sites though the way

that the u.s. has been alleged by the associated press to be operating from ever try and quite a few places in southern yemen and it's not clear what the relationship is between the presence on the island and the yemeni government forces on the island it did seem told us that. governments soldiers salaries are being topped up by the u.a.e. on top of what they are from the government and. but as we've seen in the last couple of days it looks like any of the soldiers stationed there who are from the yemeni mainland who think kicks out and sent home or at least that appears to be the plan of quite a few sources who were there at the moment have told me so like i say it's not just hard power there there are no he's to fights there was no indication that the island could become the front for anything violence but it's most definitely an

extension of what they're doing in southern yemen like i say the build up of the military and the fact that the commanders do walk around the town quite freely has been a presence for some time now shows that little by little the emirates really have taken control of this place precisely as what is militarily muhammad the head of government has called as an act of hostility and i'm just wondering where this leaves the governor because it's quite an extraordinary statement isn't it if you've got your own troops walking around stopping the prime minister from leaving when it comes to the question of sovereignty for. example well as you said. the relationship between the monarchies and i discover mint is not that it's all that good and. many consensus from had his point of view regarding the monarchies behavior in the south and then and so got to them. it seems that the martys are not happy with the movements done by. mysa been dealt out of the

prime minister recently when he moved from a gun to a collage of them oh yeah and he went to this. fall i learned. which is controlled by the amenities now so they are not a seemingly happy or these movements they want to say that any sort of movement and this sort of action on the ground must be must be taken. from the monarchies now. there are some reports today that the saudis sent a committee to see the situation there they are going to talk as the report says to the prime minister who is still there in had the boat which is the capital of this island and they are going to talk to the monarchies that will try to reconcile and solve this problem ok sam where do you think this leaves saudi arabia they are

sending a delegation to psychiatrists but alongside that you've got that relationship with the u.a.e. which has been strained because of the u.a.e. is gaining of power in yemen the fact that the u.a.e. is supporting the southern transitional council in the south of the country i think it is the saudi arabia in quite a difficult position because saudi arabia and the u.a.e. alliance are seen as the cornerstone of their sanity towards the gulf and december if they crystallize that into a coherent doctrine so now these tensions are yemen now they've exploded saudi arabia anything mitigate the damage and it entered. and he convinced the u.a.e. they act unilaterally by supporting the south humanities and then by supporting any other groups that oppose had the weather been so hot or elsewhere in the country just arming and emboldening the houdinis and iranian backed forces so the saudi arabians first of all why do how dialogue and. sense of unity and consensus about who their real big enemy is and why they have to stay united to confront that and

secondly i think that saudi arabia will for meant any kind of pro had to demonstrations like the ones we've been seeing in psychiatry against the military occupation the miss usa he the costs of if you're going to unilaterally inviolate a human sovereignty in this way are too high and that they must cissie the course in the g.c.c. i mean this is an idea of part of a broader ideological struggle within lama than say it's secular vision a mob had been solomon's vision of just continue to run sunni nationalism and this is going to try and south yemen or major theaters and then saudi arabia wants to get the upper hand in this diplomatic struggle again not let's take a closer look at the u.s. military role in yemen and north africa and we really see an interesting picture forming him i guess have touched on this in the country has bases along the southern coast of yemen the main port city of aden is dominated by u.a.e. backed separatists on the african side of the red sea it operates the a sub naval and air base in eritrea the u.a.e.

is building a military base in beveren somalia as breakaway region of somaliland and buys d.p. world has signed a thirty a deal to manage the report an agreement that has not been recognized by the somali government in mogadishu the u.a.e. is also developing the ports in puntland in other parts of somalia who self-governing status is not internationally recognized the u.a.e. is training and equipping the local maritime police force there but its relations have soured with somalia last month my goodness she dispended a u.a.e. . graham to train some of its troops soon after it sees millions of dollars from a u.a.e. plane when you look at the horn of africa and i know we've touched on it briefly and you look at the the multiple players involved there not just the saudi arabia that france and china and the u.s. and cats on and increasingly turkey it's quite

a warring picture. coming from this isn't it i mean you really see a build up of control and it's all about i guess access to these seaways these ports. one hundred percent this is sort of what's more than empire building looks like in the twenty first century i guess and this is we're seeing the u.a.e. evolving into what used to be quite content a state an emirate a story of a group of nations you speak quite content to be led by saudi arabia the big brother in the region but in the aftermath of the arab spring has realized that maybe these existing structures are not as solid as they were previously and therefore is become one of the most interventionist players in the entire region what you're seeing is the buying up in the monopolizing of all of these ports along the red sea even actually as far as limits so in the eastern mediterranean all the way into the indian ocean is definitely a big game plan

a lot of these places are sort of under the radar of most news organizations and most of most western powers the not places with significance. it's the not places where was it being forced anymore necessarily but this is why sculpture i think has become the epicenter of this strategy it's almost become a sort of crimea esque situation where both soft soft pulls who is the u.a.e. and the us money is quite beguiling for support for its residents they have been long marginalized by the mainland governments and they were left to fend for themselves basically after these two huge site clones ripped across the island in two thousand and fifteen they destroyed eighty percent of the island's roads they made one third of the population homeless and hardy's government did almost nothing to relieve you so the fact that the u.a.e. has come along offering health care offering to rebuild schools offering in some

cases it appears that trees are getting special work visas goes up and up and this is a place where unemployment is rife for people who are very poor and that's obviously suffered a lot in the last couple of years due to the conflicts. these are all things that one hundred percent pulls towards the u.a.e. away from the mainland yemeni governments it's i think maybe something that gets lost in this discussion as yes this is an ideological battle between the major powers between. between the government supposedly sits and but on the ground treason cells are very often quite ambivalence towards the states of yemen with the modern stay as it currently exists they they feel that they've been ignored for a very long time and this is one of the major reasons the u.a.e. has been able to get a foothold here because they've offered people the things that yemen was not offering them so if you're looking at the way modern power plays out and this part

of the world and it makes a lot of sense for me from an on the ground perspective definitely ok so they feel they've been ignored and you confirming that they indeed have some real money talks if you look at what's happening. in yemen in the horn of africa and the play is that strain money at troops you've got you know a plane loads of cash that there's been stopped a u.a.e. plane in the horn of africa and i'm just wondering how this plays out as far as the blockade is concerned with cattle because cattle is also going to interest the cats on turkey versus the u.a.e. saudi arabia and other places there yeah i agree this is a very interesting complication that the u.a.e. and saudi arabia are having dissension discord overs of gotcha because if you look at this procedure realist you bluebirds i thought it would be in their interests as the edit one of the big reasons why the u.a.e. has reacted so strongly to the planeload the seizure many of them million dollars in the diplomatic crisis is because somalia is not only aligned with turkey it was

also aligned with guitar as giving them desired to support within the arab league against the blockade so i think that ultimately this is going to be a broader struggle between turkey and qatar as the u.a.e. for going troll which. which ever since the the coup in july when he said steyn has been burgeoning over the course of this region turkey has a strong stronghold in in somalia but somaliland in ethiopia seems to be leaning towards the u.a.e. at least and said he has a foothold in djibouti i think as of now in terms i mean you know you have you any seems to be all the ballet as it are excuse me jumping in a place or place and the as does djibouti i judy is an interesting case over here i think that china obviously has the upper hand over in djibouti just in general simply because of its control of the military base and now it's asking to build a port in march which would be if it has it would probably surpass anything the u.a.e. has in berbera and the difference they call those two has an advantage beyond them uys probably the second most powerful factor there and the saudis have a military base there as well as the u.s.

having a crucial military installations of life is probably act towards a defense of the u.a.e. interests there because they both are interested in can countering terrorism in the hell so i think that there the u.s. and the u.a.e. are probably going to be for comedy against china for supremacy in djibouti gabby because just because of the nature of city you can dress and desire to india and china and africa in spite of the tramp and iterations relatively and develop african strategy mohamed a weakened yemen obviously plays into what's happening in the horn of africa and the discourse there. when it comes to political developments between these plays the proxy wars the potential proxy wars growing proxy wars where are we this is the problem now because it. we have so many factions and yemen so many parties conflict and parties and there is no way for one of these parties to win this war and at the same time there is no way any of them could think of

a political solution peaceful solution. because it's again it is sort of british regional war it's difficult for the inside factions to decide because the decision is sometimes outside. now we kind of back to the what the market has said about the importance of the political solution peaceful solution and how difficult it is this or if the regional powers like iran's audi's emirates and some other international powers like united states and russia could agree to a political solution in yemen it's difficult for the emmys themselves to bring back peace to their country especially when you find this war is expanding and it takes different ways and it takes a different agenda and saw many factions. in june in this war

so many militias. it's difficult to say when are you going to take the first step towards the peaceful solution as long as there are many inside and the regional powers thinking that the military solution or military solution would be the way. the military solution being the way whether it's in yemen the horn of africa or so their interest sense i have a bet and if we can just look at as a culture and if this plays out since a culture and how important an island this is away from its military potential as a launching pad i mean it's fragile ecosystem and what it means for the world. yeah it's a very delicate coast ecosystem it's the last remnants of a subtropical subtropical forest which is about twenty million years old it's been treasured by conservationists some biologists since. modern day

exploration of its species and its for and fauna began access has always been very difficult. been under threat by human activity for at least the last two hundred years the archipelagos sort of gradually drying out which is changing the climate which is already quite are it. and there's overgrazing and lots of the really precious dragons blood trees that damage to the eye and they don't go anywhere else happen felled for making room for homes of the past year and that kind of thing but when the as strip to connect to the islands to mainland yemen was built in one thousand nine hundred nine. have sad thoughts that really sped up the effects that we were already seeing damaging the ecosystem on the island. and now that the merits of the what many people are very worried about is that there might be this large scale development for example one businessman that's my reports and partner

and i came across told us that he was going to build five star hotels across the island and it currently has various infrastructure that would support that so the question is how on earth can something like that be achieved which could be actually a positive development for the island if it was managed properly and if it were jobs and it bore income and it bought more prosperity to its residents but there's so little known about what the long term plans are whether it wants to be to be just a military base or minute she based holiday resorts i mean it's it is it is a paradise there's no like here on earth it's definitely a sort of jewel in the emirates crown if it suddenly becomes this kind of sort of bustle. emirates i have read it with and i've read we've run out of time thanks very much for that too about the growing victims of this yemen war samuel ramani bethen mckernan and muhammad as you may thank you very much for your thoughts on this you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al jazeera dot

com for further discussion you can go to our facebook page at facebook dot com ford slash a.j. inside story can also join the conversation on twitter handle is that a.j. inside story mine is at jane doesn't go to have you with us alone. i'm counting the cost of drumming up business why saudi arabia is trying to lure foreign cash even as oil prices head higher the european union launches a new project blueprint. plus a look at gold smuggling in south sudan. cost zero. history is so often told through the eyes of leaders but in amritsar india just thirty kilometers from the border with pakistan this old building is being transformed into a new museum malika. is the driving force behind sars partition museum

it's really shocking because if you think about the fact that within a few years of nine eleven happening nine eleven museum was there and they are now numerous holocaust museums it's not beautiful a museum so countries around the world have walked to memorialize these events that have shaped them by dition is not about the political events that led up to partition it's about the impact on each person who went through it it's really important that we highlight the stories of humanity hopefully one outcome on this would be that we remember our shared humanity and the shared history.