In a detailed investigation published by Africa Intelligence on July 1, 2025, the extent of the United Arab Emirates’ military operation through Bosaso Airport in Puntland, Somalia, has come to light. The report exposes a sophisticated airbridge used to supply weapons, drones, and foreign fighters to Sudan’s Rapid Support Militia (Janjaweed), revealing the UAE’s deep and deliberate role in fueling one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Once a modest dirt strip, Bosaso Airport has undergone a remarkable transformation thanks to Emirati investment. Today, residents of this coastal city—home to over 700,000 people—have grown used to the deafening roar of massive Ilyushin IL-76 cargo planes overhead. These frequent flights, far exceeding civilian needs, are part of a hidden military logistics operation directly tied to the war in Sudan.
Civilian façade, military core
Since January 2021, the airport’s civilian side has been managed by Bosaso International Airport Company (BIAC), a subsidiary of Terminals Holding, a UAE conglomerate with strong ties to the Abu Dhabi royal family. The largest shareholder in Terminals Holding is Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, chaired by Tahnoun bin Zayed, National Security Advisor and brother of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.
Thanks to these connections, the UAE military was able to construct a restricted military facility inside the airport between 2023 and 2024. Hidden from public view, this complex includes drone hangars that were initially used for operations against Somalia’s branch of ISIS, but have since been repurposed for Sudan.
The airbridge to Darfur
From the outset of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023, Bosaso has played a key role in enabling the UAE’s airbridge to the Janjaweed. Flights operated by Kyrgyzstan’s New Way Cargo Airlines and Gewan Airways—the latter formally registered in Kyrgyzstan but fully owned since October 2024 by UAE-based Gewan Holding, itself a subsidiary of NG9 Holding—now regularly depart from UAE air bases such as Al-Dhafra and Al-Reef. After stopping in Bosaso, some flights continue westward with transponders turned off, heading toward N’Djamena (Chad), Libya, or Nyala in Darfur—the Janjaweed's main operations hub.
Flight traffic peaked at up to three cargo flights daily during the Janjaweed's major offensive in early 2024. By May 2025, it stabilized at around 15 flights per month.
Colombian mercenaries and Bosaso as a gateway
A particularly disturbing revelation is the UAE’s use of Bosaso as a staging area for hundreds of Colombian mercenaries. According to Colombian newspaper La Silla Vacía, these fighters—working for UAE-based private security firm GSSG, led by a former Colombian army colonel—are flown into Bosaso before being transported to Darfur. Some of these mercenaries had previously provided training to the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), which was created and funded by the UAE since 2010.
On May 3, 2025, the Sudanese Armed Forces—assisted by Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone operators—carried out a precision strike on an aircraft in Nyala preparing to depart with foreign fighters. The strike reportedly enraged both the Janjaweed and the UAE, which allegedly retaliated by bombing infrastructure in Port Sudan—headquarters of General al-Burhan’s government—for six consecutive days. Sudanese officials later hinted that the retaliatory strikes may have originated from northern Somalia.
Political complicity and regional influence
The UAE’s operation enjoys political protection in Puntland. President Said Abdullahi Deni, who severed ties with Somalia’s federal government in March 2024, grants the Emiratis full discretion over Bosaso’s airport. Dubai’s DP World has also controlled the city’s port since 2017. In a telling sign of Emirati influence, Deni and Jubaland’s controversial leader Ahmed Madobe met in Abu Dhabi—not Somalia—at the UAE’s invitation in May 2025, likely to discuss coordination.
Weapon trails and the pursuit of gold
The UAE continues to deny supporting the Janjaweed, but mounting evidence paints a different picture:
Observers believe the UAE's support aims to safeguard its economic stakes in Sudan—especially access to gold and agricultural commodities.
Global silence bought with wealth
What emerges is an alarming picture: a Gulf power exploiting regional fragility to establish covert weapons routes, prolong war, and entrench suffering in Sudan. The fighters and arms funneled through Bosaso are not just tools of war—they are enablers of atrocity and obstacles to peace.
Even more troubling is the UAE’s growing influence on the global stage. Using its immense wealth, it infiltrates media, sports, and even heads of state—muffling criticism and shaping policy.
One glaring example is a $100 million investment by a UAE fund into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company linked to Donald Trump’s family, via Aqua 1 Foundation. Meanwhile, MGX, an Abu Dhabi company, is channeling $2 billion through stablecoins into Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange—now operating primarily out of Dubai. Binance has been fined over $4.3 billion in the U.S. for anti-money laundering violations but remains a key vehicle in opaque financial networks.
These are not isolated transactions—they are strategic instruments of influence and shadow funding for destabilizing agendas, while Sudanese civilians bear the cost in death, displacement, and despair.