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Abd al Kuri

Coordinates: 12°11′8.9″N 52°14′18″E / 12.185806°N 52.23833°E / 12.185806; 52.23833
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Abd al Kuri
Native name:
عبد الكوري
Photograph by NASA
Geography
LocationGuardafui Channel
Coordinates12°11′8.9″N 52°14′18″E / 12.185806°N 52.23833°E / 12.185806; 52.23833
ArchipelagoSocotra Archipelago[1]
Area133 km2 (51 sq mi)
Length36 km (22.4 mi)
Width5 km (3.1 mi)
Highest pointMount Ṣāliḥ[2]
Administration
GovernorateSocotra Governorate[3]
Capital cityKilmia
Demographics
Population[1]

Abd al Kuri (Arabic: عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel.[4] As a part of the Socotra Archipelago Governorate of Yemen,[3][2] it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the main island of Socotra.[2] Its terrain primarily consists of granite and diorite covered with limestone.[5]

As of 2022, the island's population is unknown, due to reports of United Arab Emirates occupying forces overseeing the expulsion of the island's communities, by gunpoint, in order to establish a UAE military base and airstrip on the landmass.[6]

Geography

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The terrain of Abd al-Kuri is semi-arid, with little vegetation; annual monsoons, originating from the Indian Subcontinent, deliver vital precipitation each year.[2] Two ranges of large hills, separating near the island's centre, run nearly the entire east-west length of the island.[7] The northern coast consists mostly of sandy beaches with a few rocky outcrops and cliffs, while the southern coast consists of high, steep cliffs.[7][8] The island's highest point, Mount Ṣāliḥ, reaches an altitude of over 700 metres (2,300 feet). The total area of Abd al-Kuri is 133 km2 (51 sq mi). Most of its inhabitants subsist on fishing.[2] Kilmia is the main village.[9]

Flora and fauna

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Abd al-Kuri has a number of endemic plant species,[2] including the subshrub species Ruellia kuriensis and Convolvulus kossmatii.

The island is home to an endemic bird, the Abd al-Kuri sparrow (Passer hemileucus), which has an estimated population of fewer than 1,000 individuals.[10][11][12] The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA), by BirdLife International, for the presence of the endemic sparrow as well as for breeding colonies of the red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), sooty gull (Ichthyaetus hemprichii) and Persian shearwater (Puffinus persicus).[13]

Two species of lizards native to Abd al-Kuri, the Socotran wall lizard (Mesalina kuri) and the Abd al-Kuri rock gecko (Pristurus abdelkuri), are named after the island.[14][15][16] Additional reptiles present include the Abd al-Kuri skink (Trachylepis cristinae), the sharpnose leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus oxyrhinus) and the Socotra leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus forbesii).[17]

History

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Thomas Fellowes was sent on HMS Briton in 1872 to Abd al Kuri, alongside Socotra, by British authorities to see if it would be a suitable place to settle liberated slaves. Fellowes decided against it, citing the poor living conditions on both islands.[18]

UAE violations

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See also: UAE War Crimes § Socotra

In late june of 2022, the Yemen Press Agency reported on the expulsion and forced evictions at gun point of residents from their villages on the island of Abd Al kuri in the socotra archipelago. The sources added that the recent displacement came after construction work began to build a military base, which is speculated to host joint UAE and Israeli forces stationed in the archipelago.[19]

In the first half of 2024, an airstrip appeared on satellite imagery of the island and an array of stones that can be seen from a satellite stating "I love UAE." The UAE is currently completing the construction and declined to comment on the subject or claim responsibility.[20]

Map

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Topographic map of Socotra archipelago; Abd al-Kuri at bottom left

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Socotra Governance & Biodiversity Project - "Welcome to Socotra" Archived 22 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine 10 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "ʿAbd al-Kūrī | Arabian Sea, Socotra, Dhofar | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b GeoNames National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  4. ^ Steele, John. Ocean Currents: A Derivative of the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. p. 160.
  5. ^ Schürmann (1974) pp. 24.
  6. ^ "UAE occupation forces displace dozens of families from Abd al Kuri Island". Yemen Press Agency. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Nautical magazine (1878) pp. 809.
  8. ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2007) pp. 180.
  9. ^ Abd al Kuri Island
  10. ^ Abd al Kuri Sparrow Passer hemileucus
  11. ^ 2010. "Passer hemileucus " In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. Archived 23 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 6 October 2011.
  12. ^ Redman; Fanshawe; Stevenson (2009) pp. 412.
  13. ^ "Abd al-Kuri (Socotra)". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  14. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Abd el Kuri", p. 1; "Kur", p. 148).
  15. ^ "Mesalina kuri ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  16. ^ "Pristurus abdelkuri ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  17. ^ Species, Abd al-Kuri (9 September 2024). "Observations • iNaturalist".
  18. ^ Symposium, Colston Research Society (1974). Foreign Relations of African States: Proceedings of the Twentyfifth Symposium of the Colston Research Society Held in the University of Bristol, April 4th to 7th, 1973. Butterworths. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-408-70623-0.
  19. ^ "UAE occupation forces displace dozens of families from Abd al Kuri Island". Yemen Press Agency. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  20. ^ "An airstrip is being built on a Yemeni island during the ongoing war, with 'I LOVE UAE' next to it". AP News. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.

Bibliography

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