January 8, 2026 | 07:17 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Three Indonesians have been stranded on Yemen's Socotra Island since January 3, 2026, amid Saudi Arabia's closure of Yemeni airspace.
"They are stranded in Socotra after Yemeni airspace was closed by the Saudi government during the military strike on the port of Makala in Yemen on December 30," said Acting Director of the Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heni Hamidah, during a media briefing in Jakarta on Thursday, January 8, 2026, as quoted by Antara.
Heni said the three Indonesian tourists entered the island through a UAE-based Socotra travel agency. They are unable to leave since there are no operational flights.
As of Thursday, the Indonesian government is still in touch with the three citizens, confirming they are in good, healthy, and safe condition. Flights in Yemen have reopened since January 7, and the ministry is attempting to fly them back to Indonesia today and tomorrow.
"Our representatives in Muscat and Abu Dhabi are pushing for the three Indonesian citizens to be included in these flights, and of course, we will continue to monitor the situation," Heni said.
Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela, urges Indonesian citizens to avoid conflict areas. Still, he said, there have been no reports of Indonesian victims in Southern Yemen.
The Indonesian government also strives to monitor the presently unstable situation, especially in Yemen's south. The government assures that the safety and security of Indonesians are prioritized, along with pushing for a peaceful resolution without conflict.
The situation in Yemen escalated on December 30, 2025, after the STC forces seized control of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra in early December. These two provinces cover almost half of the Yemeni territory and directly border Saudi Arabia.
As reported by Al Jazeera, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced that the leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, had fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland. The UAE was accused of smuggling Al Zubaidi out of Yemen.
In a statement on Thursday, January 8, the coalition announced that Al Zubaidi fled in the middle of the night on Wednesday by boarding a ship from Aden in Yemen to the port of Berbera in Somaliland. He then boarded a plane with UAE officers and flew to the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu.
"The plane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, then turned it back on 10 minutes prior to arrival at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi," the statement read.
There have been no direct comments from the STC or the UAE.
Read: Saudi-Led Coalition Strikes Yemen After STC Leader Ousted
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