Embroiled in the Sudanese civil war, Abu Dhabi has established an airlift to supply the RSF with weapons and paramilitaries. Bosaso, in the northwest of Puntland, is a central link in this logistics operation.
Residents of the port city of Bosaso are no longer surprised by the regular drone of jumbo jets overhead. Less than 10 years ago, the airport in this city of 700,000, strategically nestled on the shores of the Gulf of Aden in the Puntland region, was just a laterite runway. Modernised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it now handles a handful of international flights but this hardly justifies the constant comings and goings of Ilyushin IL-76 cargo planes.
The facility also houses several military hangars used by the powerful Gulf state. Abu Dhabi has been using them as its main logistics hub to carry out its ambitious airlift to Sudan since the start of the civil war, which began in April 2023.
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s (MbZ) administration has consistently denied supporting Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s (AKA Hemeti) Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who are fighting General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). But evidence of Emirati involvement is rife: Bulgarian and Chinese weapons held by the UAE military found in Darfur in the hands of the RSF; Colombian paramilitaries from Abu Dhabi alongside locals; and the Emirati field hospital in Amdjarass, Chad, which receives a lot of military equipment destined for Hemeti’s forces. By supporting the RSF in this way, Abu Dhabi is seeking to protect its investments in the country and guarantee its long-term supply of gold and agricultural commodities.
An ideal transit location
Bosaso’s 3.4 km of tarmac is one of the centrepieces of this support effort. The airport has become an ideal transit point both because of its strategic geographical location and because of the political proximity the UAE maintains with the Puntland authorities. The president of the semi-autonomous region, Said Abdullahi Deni, ensures they get the discretion they need.
Since January 2021, an Emirati company, Bosaso International Airport Co (BIAC), has operated the civilian portion of the airport. BIAC is a subsidiary of Terminals Holding, a conglomerate with close ties to the ruling Abu Dhabi royal family. The sovereign wealth fund ADQ (Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding), chaired by Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan – brother and national security advisor to the UAE President—is Terminals Holding’s majority shareholder.
By virtue of these close links, the Emirati army was able to equip the airport with a military camp – accessible only to its soldiers – between 2023 and 2024. These hangars house the Emirati drones used in operations against the Somali branch of Islamic State.
Protest in vain
The Puntland authorities are struggling to deny the existence of this military installation. They were forced to respond again in early May when General Burhan sent a letter of protest to the Somali federal government, accusing it of turning a blind eye to the airlift from Bosaso. This was largely symbolic, given that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has not exercised sovereignty over the Puntland region since March 2024.
The frequency of these cargo planes varies according to the Sudanese conflict, peaking at two or three daily flights during the RSF offensive in early 2024. In May 2025, traffic stabilized at about 15 flights per month.
Controlled from the UAE, the flight schedules closely align with movements of cargo airlines. Two companies are used frequently: Kyrgyz New Way Cargo Airlines and Gewan Airways. Though registered in Kyrgyzstan, Gewan Airways has been owned since October 2024 by the Emirati holding company Gewan, a subsidiary of NG9 Holding, based in Abu Dhabi and owned by Jordanian businessman Alaa Al Ali, a close associate of Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Gewan Airways has not responded to media inquiries.
Flight records show Gewan Airways planes depart directly from UAE Air Force bases, mainly from Al Reef and occasionally from Al Dhafra, which also hosts French and U.S. forces. Some flights continue to Chad, Libya, or Nyala (Sudan), the RSF’s main base in Darfur, often with transponders turned off.
Spectacular drone strike
The airlift was indirectly documented in an investigation by Colombian outlet La Silla Vacía, which traced hundreds of Colombian paramilitaries fighting alongside the RSF in Darfur. Previously routed through Libya, fighters now reportedly stay in Bosaso before heading to Nyala. These fighters are affiliated with the Global Security Service Group (GSSG), a UAE-based private security company run by a former Colombian army colonel.
Bosaso is not unfamiliar to them: Colombian paramilitaries trained the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) in October 2024 before operations against Islamic State in Somalia. The PMPF – with 8,000 troops—was created and funded by the UAE since 2010.
A deadly SAF drone strike on May 3, 2025, targeted a plane preparing to take off from Nyala, reportedly carrying foreign fighters. The RSF and UAE responded with strikes on Port Sudan for six consecutive days. Sudan later accused the UAE of launching those strikes from northern Somalia, though it offered no evidence.
UAE’s unwavering support
Within the Bosaso airport complex, Emirati activities are not subject to local oversight. Abu Dhabi maintains tight ties with Puntland, especially since Deni’s 2024 decision to no longer recognize the authority of the Somali federal government. For MbZ, Bosaso also holds economic interest, with Dubai Port World managing the port since 2017.
Puntland’s President Deni aims to contest the 2026 Somali presidential elections and is building alliances, especially with Jubaland’s leader Ahmed Madobe. Though long-time rivals, the two met in May 2025 in Abu Dhabi under Emirati sponsorship – underscoring UAE’s role in shaping Somali politics.
