evidence: The United Arab Emirates, facing criticism from top Yemeni allies over its presence on the island of Socotra, said on Sunday that its role on the strategic Yemeni territory had been "distorted". [...] Socotra, which has been spared the violence that has ravaged mainland Yemen, sits at the exit of a bustling shipping lane that leads from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Socotra archipelago of four islands and two islets was listed by UNESCO in 2008 as a world heritage site because of its rich and distinct flora and fauna, much of which can’t be found anywhere else on the planet, Bloomberg reported.