Bosaso (KAAB TV) – At Bosaso Airport in Somalia’s Puntland state, the thunderous sound of large aircraft hitting the tarmac echoes out across the port city.
Minutes after landing, the aircraft can be identified. It is a white IL-76 heavy cargo transport plane, and it is parking next to a very similar aircraft.
For local residents, the sound of such planes was unusual two years ago, when they first began landing in Bosaso. Not anymore. Moments later, undisclosed heavy logistical materials are seen being offloaded from the aircraft.
“They’re frequent and the logistics are transferred immediately to another aircraft that is on standby and is destined for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan through the neighbouring countries,” said Abdullahi, a senior Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) commander at Bosaso Airport, who spoke to Middle East Eye using a different name for security reasons.
According to flight tracking data, satellite imagery, multiple local sources, and US and regional diplomats, the origin of these planes and their cargo is clear: the United Arab Emirates.
The destination, as Abdullahi said, is Sudan and the RSF, which this week has captured el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after over 500 days of siege.
The paramilitary’s fighters have committed terrible atrocities in the wake of their triumph, filming themselves massacring fleeing civilians and carrying out mass executions at hospitals.
Over a period of months, a pattern could be seen in the cargo aircraft tracked by MEE coming into Bosaso.
The planes would not remain long at the airport and would arrive during periods of minimal activity at the airport.
Publicly available air traffic data shows that the UAE increasingly uses Bosaso Airport as the arrival times of the aircraft are sometimes changed.
“During loading and offloading, they are heavily guarded, as they carry sensitive materials and logistics that are not publicly disclosed,” Abdullahi said. Supplies also come into the port at Bosaso.