| Abd al Kuri | |
| Coordinates: | 12.1858°N 52.2383°W |
| Location: | Guardafui Channel |
| Archipelago: | Socotra Archipelago |
| Area Km2: | 133 |
| Length Km: | 36 |
| Width Km: | 5 |
| Highest Mount: | Mount Ṣāliḥ |
| Country: |  Yemen |
| Country Admin Divisions Title: | Governorate |
| Country Admin Divisions: | Socotra Governorate[1] |
| Country Capital: | Kilmia |
| Population: | [2] |
| Native Name: | عبد الكوري |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
Abd al Kuri (ar|عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel.[3] As a part of the Socotra Archipelago Governorate of Yemen, it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the main island of Socotra.[4] 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]
The terrain of Abd al-Kuri is semi-arid, with little vegetation; annual monsoons, originating from the Indian Subcontinent, deliver vital precipitation each year.[4] 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 700m (2,300feet). The total area of Abd al-Kuri is 133 km2 (51 sq mi). Most of its inhabitants subsist on fishing.[4] Kilmia is the main village.[9]
Abd al-Kuri has a number of endemic plant species,[4] 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]
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]
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]