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Imperial Outpost UAE in Africa
( By Dawit W Giorgis)
Imperial Outpost UAE in Africa
( By Dawit W Giorgis)
The UAE is 54 years old. It is a relatively small country, 33,000 sq km, and even smaller in population, 10.4 million (2023), of which 88.5% are foreigners. The population of Emiratis is approximately 1.8 million, or 11% of the total. It has an army of 65000, of which 40% are foreigners.
Despite this, the UAE is a regional and global powerhouse, an important energy exporter with significant political and economic influence worldwide. From an oil-driven economy to a global business hub, its success is attributed to its strategic location, energy resources, visionary leadership, pragmatic politics, sound financial policies, a culture of tolerance, economic diversification, and a single-minded foreign policy aimed at generating profits and expanding influence. With growing military capability, the United Arab Emirates has become a ‘sub-imperial’ power in Africa, using political and military means to satisfy its expanding lust for power, natural resources in ways that align with the interests of imperial powers, the USA, and Western Europe.
“Since 2015, the UAE has abandoned its historical posture of neutrality in favor of assertive regional entanglements. This transition coincided with the rise of Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MbZ) to the position of commander of the armed forces and, eventually, the presidency. Under his leadership, the UAE accelerated a strategy that fuses militarization with aggressive branding of soft power. This transformation builds upon military capability developments initiated in the 1990s and expanded rapidly post-2011, intensifying even further after 2015.”1
The UAE’s role in the region, particularly in Africa, is diverse, involving economic investment, control of strategic sea corridors, expansion of influence, military engagement, and conducting proxy wars, including hiring mercenaries. The UAE’s strategic location and energy resources have made it a strong ally of the USA.
“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States have a strong military partnership, formalized by a 1994 defense cooperation agreement and further strengthened by an updated agreement in 2019. This partnership includes joint training exercises, prepositioning of US military equipment in the UAE, and the transfer of advanced weapons systems. The UAE is also a major defense partner with the US, participating with them in several coalition actions and hosting US military personnel and facilities. 2 During the recent visit of President Donald Trump to the Gulf, the US and United Arab Emirates signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) formalizing the establishment of a “comprehensive U.S.-UAE Major Defense Partnership.”
The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the United States have also agreed to establish the “US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership” framework to further bolster cooperation around critical technologies and ensure the protection of such technologies based on a set of joint commitments.15 May 2025.3
With this agreement, the UAE will have the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the United States.. The UAE had been spending billions of dollars in a push to become a global AI player. The UAE has fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has proved to be a dependable ally as well as being an active participant in the global Coalition against ISIS, which was formed in September 2014, and all the operations against al-Qa’ida and its international global bases.
Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively. In 2020, the UAE and Bahrain became the first Arab states to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords gave the UAE a huge opportunity to bring it closer to the USA. Nearly 600 Israeli companies have been set up in the UAE. Cooperation in technology and intelligence sharing has helped the UAE counter the influence of regional rivals like Iran — Israel’s sworn enemy — or Islamist movements that are deemed a threat.
I attended the March 27-29, 2023, Abraham Accord Conference in Jerusalem, organized by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, with representatives of think tanks and journalists from over 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa to discuss the war on terror and radicalization, as well as water and food security. There were a surprising number of Arab countries and organizations, and institutions historically hostile to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. I made a presentation on the evolving relationship of Israel with Africa, which remarkably took a very sad turn just a few months later, on October 7. The accords now pose a dilemma for Emirati leaders, who face rage in the Middle East. However, growing international criticism of the Israeli government has not affected relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which remain stable.
Israeli arms manufacturers were showcasing their weapons and other products at a defense fair in the United Arab Emirates, during a fragile ceasefire in a 15-month war between Israel and the terror group Hamas. For the UAE, there are no limits to this bond.4
This angered the entire Muslim world and sympathizers of the Palestinian cause.
However, Israel’s embassy in Abu Dhabi remains the only diplomatic representation of the Jewish state in the Middle East that is fully staffed and operational.
Dubai Port (DP) World in Africa:
The UAE ” uses its soft power with militarized control to dominate trade routes, protect its investments, fuel proxy wars, and entrench US-Emirati security interests across the Horn of Africa.”5
The DP World motto is to make Dubai a “Beacon of Transformative Logistics in the Middle East and Beyond.” DP World is not about the construction of ports and logistics. It is much more than that. Through “technology investments and a forward-thinking approach,” DP World is creating the conditions for gaining access and influence and exploiting the resources of nations across Africa. Beyond port development, these investments include logistics, supply chains, energy, agriculture, and mineral extraction, particularly in countries with weak governance and oversight like Sudan, South Sudan, CAR, Congo, Ethiopia, Chad, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, etc. UAE brings together economic and militarized interventions in a well-coordinated manner. UAE has the best economists, security experts, strategists, and an alliance with all the leading global security and intelligence institutions to make it possible to eliminate all competitors and rivals and assert control over strategic hubs like Djibouti, Aden, Port Sudan, Berbera, Hargeisa, and Assab.
The Horn of Africa has become a crucial arena for the UAE’s projection
In Eritrea, Abu Dhabi established its first overseas military base by leasing the port and airport of Assab for 30 years. DP World upgraded the site, which became a hub for launching drones and deploying ground forces during the Yemen war.
In Puntland, it took over the Bosaso port and backed factions hostile to the central government. These interventions turned the region into a base for Emirati power projection, reportedly including UAE–Israeli coordination to recognize Somaliland in exchange for a military foothold. This positioning formed part of a strategy to close the western gate of the Red Sea while securing the eastern gate through the Yemeni port of Mokha.”
* In Somalia, the UAE capitalized on tensions between the federal government in Mogadishu and the breakaway region of Somaliland
* It brokered a deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland to make it possible for Ethiopia to have its port in Somaliland constructed and managed by DP, which later created an international outrage.
* It leased Berbera’s port and airport despite Mogadishu’s opposition, transforming them into integrated military and intelligence facilities.6
It is understood that the goal of all these undertakings is to monopolize regional trade routes and have greater control and influence in the region.
The UAE and Djibouti entered into an agreement in 2006 on the management of the Doraleh container terminal. Soon after, disputes over the contract escalated when Djibouti objected to the establishment of a permanent UAE base. Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI), called Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion investment campaign in Africa a “strategic ploy” and “a threat to Africa’s sovereignty,” adding: “There is no such thing as neutral investment. Every port or infrastructure deal is tied to a broader geopolitical goal …The Emiratis are deeply destabilizing for the region.”
Sudan: War for Control and Plunder
Sudan’s 700-kilometer Red Sea coastline is critical to UAE ambitions in the region. The strategic location makes it a prime candidate for Emirati port control. The UAE’s involvement in Sudan goes deeper. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group implicated in war crimes and human rights violations in its military campaigns in Darfur and beyond, has full support from the UAE. Gold smuggling forms another layer of this conflict. As one regional analyst, who requested anonymity, explains to The Cradle:
“About 80 percent of Sudan’s smuggled gold is destined for the UAE, where it is re-exported to international markets, making it the biggest beneficiary of this trade. This trade is used to finance the war, especially by the Rapid Support Forces, which manage their financial operations from Dubai, in the absence of effective Sudanese supervision.”7 Sudanese journalist Kamal Sir al-Khatem tells The Cradle that this expansion is not merely commercial but represents a broader “sub-imperial” project:
“The UAE represents a model of a peripheral state that practices imperialism within its own region, while at the same time remaining dependent on the United States as the main imperialist power.”8. It is a model of sub-imperialism nested within US power projection – a system reliant on instability, elite bargains, and the strategic use of soft power cloaked in modernity. The backlash from local populations, resistance movements, and regional states may ultimately unravel this ambitious blueprint. 9
In “Yemen: Abu Dhabi’s imperial springboard,” the UAE fought alongside the Saudi-led coalition CCG. UAE has secured control over Aden, Mukalla, Shihr, and the ports of Hadhramaut, asserting authority over the Arabian Sea. On the Red Sea side, it took over Mokha port after failing to penetrate Hodeidah, which remained under Sanaa’s control.
The UAE’s ambitions extend to Yemeni islands. Socotra, with its strategic location, was turned into a military and intelligence base following Emirati–Israeli coordination.. The UAE is seeking greater influence in Socotra, having built a military base there, installed communications networks, and carried out other development projects, similar to its policies elsewhere in Yemen, such as Aden and Mukalla.10
In February 2024, an Emirati company controversially acquired Socotra’s airport, prompting popular outrage. Amid rising public resistance, the UAE strengthens its control over Socotra through military bases, economic monopolies, and strategic infrastructure takeovers.11 Critics and activists say the UAE seeks to transform the island into a permanent military outpost-[deleted]-holiday resort, and may even be stealing its UNESCO-protected plants and animals.12 Ahmed al-Hasani, spokesperson for the South Yemeni National Salvation Council, tells The Cradle that the UAE entered southern Yemen through a 2008 deal with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to manage Aden port, only to paralyze it in favor of Dubai’s Jebel Ali. Post-2015, it expanded its reach to include Shabwa, Mokha, and the islands of Socotra and Mayun.
Despite its expansive reach, the UAE has failed to counter the Sanaa-aligned Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) threats to Israeli shipping in the Red Sea. Hasani notes that Abu Dhabi has opened discrete communication channels with Sanaa to safeguard its interests, effectively asking for the neutralization of its proxies:
“The UAE’s control over Yemeni ports does not only carry an economic dimension, but is linked to a strategic security project in which it cooperates with Israel and the United States, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and even the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean.” 13. Across Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and Yemen, the UAE’s foreign policy reflects a pursuit of maritime dominance, regional leverage, and economic harmony.
The Big Prize for the UAE is Ethiopia
Together with Sudan, the UAE looks forward to a win-win situation in the Horn by pouring all its resources into the civil wars in both countries. Satellite imagery obtained by Al Jazeera has revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has opened an air bridge to provide extensive military support to the Ethiopian government in its fight against forces from the northern Tigray region. Vehicles, drones, munitions, armed personnel carriers, and other weapons were transported to Ethiopia regularly. Those activities have been accelerated since then as Abiy’s war began being directed towards the Amhara region. The two countries’ military planes conducted a joint military airshow in Addis Ababa to Mark the Ethiopian Air Force’s Anniversary.
The UAE remains the most reliable and consistent supporter of the regime in its war against its people, particularly the Amharas. When the time for justice comes UAE will be accused of being an accomplice to the ongoing genocide in Ethiopia. The transformation of Ethiopia-UAE relations is marked by several other milestones besides the direct military support and criminal and arrogant, and defiant interventions in the ongoing rebellion against Abiy’s regime:
* The UAE’s $3 billion concessional loan and investment in Ethiopia in 2018.
* The UAE’s role in brokering peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018.
* The signing of 17 agreements in 2023 covered finance, technology, agriculture, and trade.
* A currency swap agreement was signed between ENB and CB of the UAE in 2024
* Initiatives like the “ 5 Million Ethiopian Coders” program and humanitarian assistance efforts in 2024. (This program is an offshoot of the One Million Arab Coders program, which was announced in 2017 by the UAE at the World Economic Forum.)
The cooperation extends across diverse sectors, including maritime diplomacy, economic engagement, energy and climate initiatives, public diplomacy, and regional security. 14 UAE is deeply involved in the conflict in Ethiopia, as it is in Sudan. There are speculations that the UAE is recruiting mercenaries and also extending the services of the Russian mercenary group Africa Corps ( formerly Wagner mercenary force) to Ethiopia.
“The UAE has acquired agricultural land in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. These investments, often extractive, have significant impacts on local populations and ecosystems. In many cases, water-intensive crops such as alfalfa are grown to feed livestock in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, illustrating that these activities constitute not only land grabs but also water grabs. The large-scale production of crops, fruits, vegetables, and livestock often results in the depletion of local resources, leading to food insecurity and environmental degradation for the host countries.(external link) Moreover, raw materials imported to the UAE are sometimes processed and sold back to African countries at significantly higher prices’’15
UAE and its Mercenaries in Africa
A report from the Colombian newspaper La Silla disclosed the involvement of two Colombian military units, former soldiers, fighting alongside the militia in Sudan. According to the report, more than 300 Colombian soldiers are either currently fighting in Sudan or en route there. The mercenaries are reportedly contracted for $2,600 each, while sergeants receive $3,400.paid by the UAE.. The soldiers explained that their recruitment was carried out through a Colombian company called International Security Services Agency (A4AI), founded in Colombia in 2017 by a former Colombian army officer. They were told they would provide security services for oil infrastructure in the UAE.16
The United Arab Emirates has used Russia’s notorious Wagner mercenary group (now known as Africa Corps) to ship arms to rebels in Sudan’s civil war, experts and a paramilitary group say. The Kremlin-funded military contractor used the neighboring Central African Republic (CAR) to smuggle weapons to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighting against the Sudanese army. Rebels fighting the CAR government told an investigation by SourceMaterial that they had captured Wagner-escorted consignments of weapons supplied by the UAE and destined for the RSF.17
UAE-based Black Shield recruits mercenaries in the region. The UAE has a long history of hiring mercenaries from poor nations to cement its influence in the Middle East. UAE-based Black Shield Security company was accused of deceiving Sudanese youth by offering them contracts as security guards in the UAE, only to take them for training at a military camp and then forcefully deploy them in Libya and Yemen. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has increasingly sought to increase its influence in the region. It has vested interests in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa, and has not shied away from using mercenaries in its regional endeavors.
In 2011, the UAE signed a $529 million contract with Reflex Response Security Consultants, managed by infamous Blackwater Worldwide founder Eric Prince, who has legal problems in the US because of his security business. The UAE has relied on mercenaries in its wars in Libya and Yemen, and also deployed them in many ports in countries along the Red Sea coast. Around 450 mercenaries from Latin American countries dressed in UAE military uniforms were deployed in Yemen in 2015 to fight alongside the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels, according to a New York Times report. The report said fighters were trained in the UAE deserts before being deployed. On the other hand, BuzzFeed News reported in 2018 that the UAE hired US mercenaries to kill politicians belonging to the al-Islah party that the UAE considers a “terrorist group” for its alleged affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. The report said the UAE sought to eliminate individuals who have challenged its separatist policies in Yemen; its control over the resources of southern Yemen, and its military and mercenaries’ presence in the strategic Socotra Island.
Reports from the Sudanese media noted that since 2019, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sent at least 4,000 soldiers to protect oil installations in Libya to allow warlord Khalifa Haftar’s militia to attack Tripoli — the seat of the internationally recognized government. Other Sudanese mercenaries from the Janjaweed militia linked to Hemedti are also in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, supporting Haftar. 18
The United Arab Emirates has financed Russian mercenaries in Libya who provide support to the illegal militia led by warlord Khalifa Haftar. The US Department of Defense says the UAE has provided financial assistance to Russia’s mercenary group Wagner. The Pentagon document, reported by Foreign Policy, points to the long-time US ally as a financier.
On November 21, 2024, Sudanese fighters filmed what they said was a shipment of mortar shells bound for the Rapid Support Forces, the militia that is fighting against the Sudanese Army in the ongoing civil war. These weapons, manufactured in Bulgaria, were shipped to Sudan despite the European Union embargo on sending weapons to this war-torn country….the party at the heart of this transaction: International Golden Group, an Emirati company known for diverting weapons to eastern Libya, to the government led by General Khalifa Haftar, an ally of the United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is funding the mobilization of thousands of mercenaries to support the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan as part of its conspiracy to spread chaos, engage in conflicts, and pave the way for the looting of the country’s resources and capabilities. For months, the United Nations has been monitoring the growing phenomenon of mercenaries, including foreign fighters, aligning with the Rapid Support Forces in their conflict with the Sudanese army. These mercenaries are reportedly coming from regions such as the Sahel, Mali, Niger, as mentioned in a report by the Emirati Leaks platform.19
Diplomatic sources revealed that the United Arab Emirates is planning a new battle in Libya to serve its aggressive goals and expand its influence in the country, including attempts to control its resources, wealth, and influence decision-making circles, this time with warlord Khalifa Haftar’s militias. The UAE is a hub for mercenaries in Africa and the Middle East. Now the Emirates want their version of the French Foreign Legion. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is creating an elite Emirati Foreign Legion for combat operations abroad. Commissioning the construction of a new elite mercenary force resembling the French Foreign Legion, a leaked job advertisement has revealed. According to the site Intelligence Online, an unnamed former French special forces officer is leading the initiative to construct an elite unit that would operate as part of the UAE’s regular army but with foreign recruits.20
The UAE’s presence and networks are expanding beyond the Horn to West Africa as illicit gold flows through Abu Dhabi to fund armed groups, mercenaries, and coup d’états. The United States and its allies need to realize that the UAE’s aggressive strategy tends to encourage jihadism, rather than defeating it.
In conclusion, understanding the UAE’s role in reshaping regional geopolitics is critical for resistance, justice, and freedom movements to challenge imperialist power structures effectively. The UAE’s transformation into a ‘sub-imperialist’ power demonstrates how a small, wealthy state can exert overarching and unusual influence on regional and global affairs. Its investments in the infrastructure, agriculture, mining, and other natural resources in many African nations, combined with military interventions and covert operations, “ have cemented its role as both a beneficiary and an agent of imperialist practices. At the same time, the UAE’s alignment with dominant powers like the US and its diversification of alliances with China, Russia, and others highlight the intermediary status and strategic autonomy that tend to characterize ‘sub-imperialist’ states.” 21. By understanding the UAE’s role within the ‘sub-imperialism’ framework, African countries can better protect their sovereignty and national interests, challenge its actions, and fight against exploitation and interventions, in any form, in their internal affairs.
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1 https://libya360.wordpress.com/2025/05/ ... e-red-sea/
2 https://breakingdefense.com/2025/05/us- ... rtnership/
3 https://2017-2021.state.gov/at-the-virt ... index.html
4 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ ... ence-fair/
5 https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31040
6 https://thecradle.co/articles/recognizi ... -west-asia
7 https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31040
8 https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31040
IBID
9 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 31946.html
10 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 31946.html
11 https://www.watanserb.com/en/2025/03/03 ... -yemens-12 12 socotra-military-expansion-and-economic-domination/
13 https://www.ifa.gov.et/2025/04/15/forgi ... rtnership/
14 https://www.ifa.gov.et/2025/04/15/forgi ... rtnership/
15 https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31040
16 https://www.tni.org/en/article/the-emer ... -in-africa
17 https://sudanevents.com/index.php/2024/ ... e-full-sto
18 https://www.eurasiantimes.com/category/americas/
19 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/ua ... on/1914366.
20 https://www.watanserb.com/en/2024/01/06 ... obilized-i n-sudan-and-libya/
21 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240 ... ns-abroad/
https://www.tni.org/en/article/the-emer ... -in-africa
