Somalia’s Dangerous Link to Sudan’s Genocide: A Call for Accountability
BOSASO Military Airport built by UAE
A Special Report by the Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders (CSHRD)
Special Consultative Status – UN ECOSOC | Member – Coalition for the ICC (CICC)
Sudan is once again witnessing genocide. In the city of El-Fashir, civilians — particularly from the Masalit and Fur ethnic groups — are being massacred, displaced, and starved by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias. The ICC Prosecutor has confirmed mass killings, sexual violence, and the deliberate targeting of communities, calling the situation one of the most urgent crises of our time.
But this genocidal campaign is not fueled from inside Sudan alone.
It is armed, financed, and supported from abroad — and disturbingly, some of that support flows through Somalia.
The UAE’s Hidden War — Using Somalia as a Weapon
Investigations by Reuters, Le Monde, and Middle East Eye, along with confirmations from Somali civil society sources, reveal that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been secretly transporting weapons to Sudan using Bosaso military airport in Puntland. These same routes have reportedly been used to move foreign mercenaries, including Colombians later identified fighting alongside RSF forces in Darfur.
Additionally, reports suggest Somalia has served as a launchpad for UAE drone operations, believed to support RSF advances around El-Fashir — attacks that have left neighborhoods burned and families buried in makeshift graves.
While Somalia continues to publicly support regional peace, behind the scenes, our sovereignty is being exploited for foreign war interests.
Hard Questions for Somali Leadership
Somalia is recommended by the last UPR in 2021 to be a signatory to the Rome Statute, but it is comfirmed the UAE paid Somalia money to pressure the government not sign the Rome statue (not to join ICC), but still our government has a legal duty to prevent its territory from being used to aid war crimes. Yet clear questions remain unanswered:
Who approved UAE military access to Bosaso’s airport?
Did Puntland or federal officials knowingly permit arms transfers?
Were financial or political favors exchanged?
Why have Somali authorities not intervened or investigated?
We do not assume guilt.
But Somali political complicity must be examined — impartially and urgently.
The West’s Convenient Silence
According to rights advocates such as the Campaign Against Arms Trade, Western nations are reluctant to challenge the UAE because it functions as a proxy enforcer in Africa:
> UAE creates chaos — the West profits from the order that follows.
Sudan’s communities pay for this bargain with their lives.
It is unacceptable that powerful states wash their hands while enabling a partner responsible for genocide — and even more unacceptable if Somalia becomes a silent participant.
Somalia Must Choose: Justice or Complicity
Somalis know well the pain of war, displacement, and mass suffering. We cannot allow our ports and airports to be used as a pipeline of death for another nation’s people.
CSHRD demands:
1️⃣ A full investigation by the ICC into UAE’s activities in Somalia and possible complicity
2️⃣ A global arms embargo on the UAE for fueling crimes against humanity
3️⃣ Immediate review of UAE military operations and logistics inside Somalia
4️⃣ Protection for Somali journalists and human rights defenders exposing this network
Conclusion
Our message is simple:
Somali territory must never be used for genocide.
If we fail to act now, Sudan’s bloodshed will stain Somalia’s history as well.
CSHRD stands with the survivors of Darfur and calls on Somalia to defend international law — not break it.
CSHRD Advocacy Team
