by RAGIP SOYLU
Puntland’s President Said Abdullahi Deni turns Bosaso airport over to the United Arab Emirates without parliamentary approval
The United Arab Emirates deployed a military radar in Somalia’s Puntland earlier this year to defend Bosaso airport against potential Houthi attacks from Yemen, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye.
Satellite imagery from early March reveals that the Israeli-made ELM-2084 3D Active Electronically Scanned Array Multi-Mission Radar was installed near the airport.
Publicly available air traffic data indicates that the UAE is increasingly using Bosaso airport to supply the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.
The RSF has been engaged in a war with the Sudanese military for two years.
Earlier this year, the Sudanese government filed a lawsuit against the UAE at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide due to its links with the RSF. The UAE denies it backs the RSF militarily.
“The UAE installed the radar shortly after the RSF lost control of most of Khartoum in early March,” a regional source told MEE.
“The radar’s purpose is to detect and provide early warning against drone or missile threats, particularly those potentially launched by the Houthis, targeting Bosaso from outside.”
‘This is a secret deal, and even the highest levels of Puntland’s government, including the cabinet, are unaware of it’
– Somali source
Another regional source said the radar was deployed at the airport late last year. MEE was unable to independently verify this claim.
The second source said that the UAE has been using Bosaso airport daily to support the RSF, with large cargo planes regularly arriving to load weapons and ammunition – sometimes up to five major shipments at a time.
Middle East Eye for more