Wednesday Febr 11, 2026 {HMC} The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has expressed serious concern over reports that a training center linked to the United Arab Emirates has been established in Ethiopia for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, with possible supply routes passing through Somaliland.
Sen. Jim Risch said in a post on X on Tuesday that he was troubled by allegations of a UAE-linked training hub in Ethiopia for what he described as “genocidal RSF thugs,” and by claims that supplies and weapons may be routed through the port of Berbera in Somaliland.
“These moves would be escalatory and further reason to designate the RSF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, bringing consequences for this regional proxy support,” Risch wrote.
He said such actions could further destabilize the Horn of Africa and add to the case for formally labeling the RSF as a foreign terrorist organization, a designation that would carry significant political and criminal implications under U.S. law.
The statement comes amid mounting international scrutiny of the RSF, a powerful paramilitary force locked in a brutal conflict with Sudan’s army. The group has been accused by rights organizations and foreign governments of serious human rights abuses and acts of genocide, particularly in Sudan’s Darfur region.
There has been no official response from Somaliland, Ethiopia or the United Arab Emirates to Risch’s remarks.
The UAE has previously faced accusations of supplying weapons and military equipment to the RSF, including claims that shipments passed through Bosaso port in Somalia’s Puntland region. The UAE has repeatedly denied providing military support to the militia.
In November 2025, Somalia’s defense minister, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, confirmed before the Upper House that aircraft had flown from Bosaso to Sudan, marking the first official acknowledgment from Mogadishu following widespread speculation about the flights’ purpose. Fiqi said the federal government was aware of the flights but did not know what cargo they carried or who operated them.
Somalia’s relations with the UAE have been strained in recent years. Mogadishu nullified security and port agreements with Abu Dhabi, leading to a suspension of formal security cooperation between the two countries.
The allegations emerge at a time when the international community is closely monitoring the involvement of foreign actors in Sudan’s war, which has drawn in regional and global powers.
Source Hiiraan online
