evidence: The history of Socotra describes the cultures, events, peoples and strategic relevance for sea trade of what is Socotra, an island of the Republic of Yemen, currently under control of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen's ongoing civil war.[1] Lying between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea and near major shipping routes, Socotra is the largest of the four islands in the Socotra archipelago. [...] - ^ Republic of Yemen, Socotra Archipelago, Proposal for inclusion in the World Heritage List - UNESCO, January 2006. [...] On Saturday, the STC announced it had seized government facilities and military bases on the main island of Socotra, a sparsely populated archipelago which sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.