Samhah or Samha ( ar, سمحة) is an inhabited island in the

Guardafui Channel The Guardafui Channel ( so, Marinka Gardafuul) is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and Socotra to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north with the ...

. A part of the

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

archipelago, it is located between the island of Socotra and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. Like the whole group, it belongs to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and is part of

Socotra Governorate The Socotra Archipelago ( ar, أرخبيل سقطرى ') or Suqutra is officially one of the governorates of Yemen. It is composed of the Guardafui Channel's archipelago of Socotra. History Since before British rule, Socotra had been part ...

. There is a dispute between Yemen and Somalia's government over the island's sovereignty.

Statistics

It measures in area, making it the smallest of the three inhabited islands of the group, after the main island of Socotra and

Abd al Kuri Abd al Kuri ( ar, عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel. As a part of the Socotra Archipelago of the Socotra Governorate of Yemen, it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the island of Socotra.Darsah Darsah ( ar, درسة) is an uninhabited island in the Guardafui Channel. It is part of the Socotra Archipelago of Yemen. Darsah and neighboring Samhah ( to the west) are collectively known as "Al Akhawain" ( ar, الأخوين) which means "The B ...

( to the east) are collectively known as "Al Akhawain" ( ar, الأخوين) which means "The Brothers". The island of Samhah measures in length and in width.

Important Bird Area

The island of Samhah (along with neighbouring Darsa) has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports breeding

Jouanin's petrel Jouanin's petrel (''Bulweria fallax'') is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found throughout the northwestern Indian Ocean. Its natural habitats are open seas and shallow seas. It has been recorded breeding on Socotra ...

References

Socotra archipelago Important Bird Areas of Socotra Islands of Somalia Disputed islands Territorial disputes of Yemen Territorial disputes of Somalia Seabird colonies {{Somalia-geo-stub