UNESCO plans to send a mission to Yemen's Socotra archipelago to report to it about the situation on the archipelago which is on the world heritage list, government officials said on Sunday.

The move comes amid growing fears over threats to the archipelago's unique biodiversity following the southern transitional council's takeover of the archipelago and as the UAE is seeking to build military bases on it. Violence and UAE ambitions could result in removing it from the world heritage list, officials said.

The Yemeni ambassador to UNESCO, Mohammed Jumaih, said he met with Mechtild Rössler, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, on Saturday and discussed the plan to send an international mission to Socotra.

UNESCO is finding ways to transport the mission, he said.

Socotra has seen security tensions and brief skirmishes over this year between government forces and UAE-backed separatists. Presently, the island is under the control of the southern separatists.