French Report Claims UAE Developing Strategic Military Base in Somaliland
French newspaper Le Monde has reported that the UAE is expanding Berbera Airport in Somaliland into a military base near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key global shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
According to the report, the project is intended to strengthen the strategic presence of the UAE, with claims that the facility could also support US and Israeli interests in the region. Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains internationally unrecognised, occupies a strategically important location on one of the world's busiest maritime corridors.
The report further alleges that security cooperation between Israel and Somaliland has increased through military and intelligence exchanges, officer training and visits by Israeli military teams to the Berbera base.
The claims highlight the growing geopolitical importance of the Bab al-Mandab region, although the reported details have not been independently verified.
