Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — The United Arab Emirates is operating a UAE arms hub in Somalia from the Puntland port city of Bosaso, a new report alleges.
The report says the UAE allegedly uses the facility as a covert transit point to ship weapons, heavy logistics, and mercenaries to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s devastating civil war.
The investigation by Middle East Eye (MEE), citing local sources, flight data, and satellite imagery, details a pattern of clandestine operations.
The allegations surface as the RSF faces new accusations of mass atrocities. The paramilitary group captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, this week following an 18-month siege.
Since April 2023, the war in Sudan has created the world’s largest displacement crisis and led the US government to formally determine that the RSF has committed genocide.
The Sudan war pits the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). According to the UN, the conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 14 million people, and pushed parts of the country into famine.
In January 2025, the US government formally determined that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur.
A covert supply route
The MEE report describes frequent landings of IL-76 heavy cargo planes at Bosaso airport. A senior Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) commander, speaking anonymously, told MEE the cargo is “immediately transferred to another aircraft… destined for the… RSF in Sudan.”
Sea shipments allegedly supplement this air bridge. A senior manager at Bosaso’s port told MEE that over 500,000 containers marked “hazardous” have arrived from the UAE in the past two years.
The shipments arrived without origin or destination details, remained shrouded in secrecy, and moved swiftly to the airport under heavy guard. “It was just transit,” the manager said.
Sources told MEE the logistics include Chinese-made drones, which are part of a larger UAE operation in the region.
The UAE has long funded the PMPF, ostensibly to fight piracy. However, PMPF soldiers told investigators the incoming shipments are “large and beyond their requirements” and do not go to their camps.
The UAE has established a ring of bases across the Horn of Africa, including facilities in Yemen and Somaliland. As a result, this gives it strategic control over the Gulf of Aden.
The MEE report alleges the UAE arms hub in Somalia is a key node in this network, and says the UAE protects it with a military radar system at the Bosaso airport.
Neither the UAE government nor Puntland regional authorities responded to Somalia Today’s request for comment. Previously, the UAE denied sponsoring the RSF.
Colombian mercenaries in Somalia
Separately, the report also identifies a separate camp at the Bosaso airport housing Colombian mercenaries involved in the Sudan war.
The PMPF commander confirmed their presence, telling MEE: “Yes, they’re Colombian mercenaries operating from here in large numbers.”
These personnel allegedly arrive on commercial flights and transit to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF. The camp reportedly includes a new hospital to treat wounded fighters evacuated from Sudan.
“I recall one occasion when a plane carrying injured soldiers landed… and the aircraft door was visibly stained with blood,” the PMPF source said.
The operation highlights the complex relationship between the UAE and Somalia.
Mogadishu’s federal government controls Somali airspace but has not openly confronted Abu Dhabi over its activities in Puntland, a semi-autonomous state. Many regard Puntland’s President, Said Abdullahi Deni, as a close ally of the UAE.
Analysts have warned that the operation risks destabilizing the region. “Puntland remains one of the least surveyed and overseen areas in the world,” Martin Plaut, an academic specializing in the Horn of Africa, told MEE.
He noted that by facilitating the UAE arms hub in Somalia, “Puntland authorities could be complicit” in war crimes.
The revelations come as the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating on “reasonable grounds to believe” that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Sudan.
Local PMPF soldiers expressed unease, fearing the operation supports atrocities against a friendly nation.
