MOGADISHU – The United Arab Emirates has started removing its military equipment and personnel from Somalia, following instructions from the Somali federal government prohibiting UAE military and cargo aircraft from utilizing the country’s airspace, as reported by Somalia Local Media on Saturday. Although Garowe Online rejected these reports, local sources are increasingly reporting this ongoing evacuation; however, these accounts remain unsubstantiated by photographic evidence.
Several Emirati cargo flights transporting military hardware have already left Somalia for the UAE, departing from Mogadishu and the port city of Bosaso since the ban was publicized by media on Thursday.
This action came after reports indicated that the United Arab Emirates helped the covert escape of Yemen’s southern separatist leader Aidarous Al-Zoubaidi by secretly flying him from Mogadishu to Abu Dhabi on a military aircraft. Al-Zoubaidi was scheduled to participate in Saudi-hosted negotiations regarding Yemen’s crisis.
According to the reports, he first arrived by boat in the Somaliland port city of Berbera before being airlifted to Mogadishu, where he later departed for the UAE.
Somalia announced on Thursday that it had launched an investigation into the allegations and stated it would take appropriate measures if the reports were confirmed. The government expressed that it was unacceptable for a fugitive to be covertly transported through Somalia’s airports and airspace.
The Somali federal government has reportedly formally informed the United Arab Emirates of the ban, demanding a complete stop to the use of Somali airspace for military purposes.
Four UAE cargo aircraft carrying weapons and military equipment are expected to depart from Mogadishu in the coming days, with six additional flights scheduled to leave from Bosaso in Puntland. The UAE has frequently been accused of using Bosaso as a transit point for transporting weapons and mercenaries to support Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces in their conflict with the Sudanese government.
Relations between Somalia and the United Arab Emirates have reached their lowest point this week, with Mogadishu openly aligning with Saudi Arabia in its proxy conflict in Yemen and supporting efforts to defeat the Southern Transitional Council separatists.
Even prior to the airspace ban, connections between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi had been gradually worsening. Somali officials have raised concerns that the UAE played a major role in Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and was encouraging other nations to do the same, further intensifying mistrust between the two governments.
