Open-source tracker says convoy of technicals crossed from Berbera into Ethiopia at Wajale, and says a cargo plane from the UAE landed in Dire Dawa


Trailers loaded with pick-up trucks in a convoy on the road at Wajale on the Somaliland-Ethiopia border, in an image posted and geolocated by AfriMEOSINT

A convoy of trailers carrying pick-up trucks at Wajale on the Somaliland-Ethiopia border, in an image AfriMEOSINT posted late on October 21, 2026, and said it geolocated. Image: AfriMEOSINT via X

A convoy of trailers carrying dozens of pick-up trucks crossed from Somaliland into Ethiopia at Wajale on Wednesday, the open-source account AfriMEOSINT says, adding that they are likely bound for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces.

"A convoy of trailers transporting dozens of technicals and pick-ups passed through the town of Wajale into Ethiopia yesterday, having travelled from Berbera, Somaliland," AfriMEOSINT wrote late Wednesday, sharing an image and a video of the trucks. The account said it geolocated the convoy at 9.60154, 43.33351, on the road at the border town, and added: "It is likely heading to Asosa, possibly for Sudan's RSF." Asosa, the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz region, is on the far western side of the country, near the Sudan border.

Hours later the account posted more footage of what it said was the same convoy passing through Wajale "en route to Ethiopia," and wrote that the vehicles "are likely bound for the RSF in Sudan, consistent with similar shipments we have been tracking since late last year." It also shared video of an earlier convoy from July 2026, which it said arrived at the Port of Berbera before being taken to Benishangul-Gumuz, with the vehicles covered in a way it called "a clever way to conceal the vehicles being moved." Mereja could not independently confirm where the trucks were going or who owns them.

The footage spread on X before AfriMEOSINT published its geolocation. On Wednesday, Bashir Hashi Yussuf, who describes himself as an independent journalist covering East Africa, posted a video and wrote that the United Arab Emirates "continues to offload vehicles at the port of Berbera destined for the RSF forces in Sudan," saying they are moved through Ethiopia on cargo trucks. Umut Çağrı Sarı, a writer who focuses on the Horn of Africa, wrote that the UAE was "reportedly still funneling vehicles to Sudan's RSF via Berbera port, with Ethiopian trucks hauling them onward, and some seen inside Somaliland." Abdifatah Hassan Omar, who describes himself as a former communications director at Somalia's Ministry of Agriculture, wrote that Berbera "is reportedly serving as a transit point" for such shipments.

Early Thursday, AfriMEOSINT reported a second movement it linked to the convoy. "Batot Air's Il-76TD cargo aircraft (reg. XT-ABL) flew from Al Ain in the UAE to Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia today," it wrote, calling it "an unusual destination for these suspected UAE supply flights" and saying "the timing is all the more intriguing given the convoy arriving from Berbera." Middle East Brief, a news and analysis account, wrote that if the flight is confirmed, it may reflect an expansion or redistribution of the UAE-linked air transport network away from routes directly connected to Sudan. Dire Dawa lies on the railway from Djibouti and on the road network that links the Wajale border crossing with the Ethiopian interior.

The new posts follow AfriMEOSINT's report on Tuesday of an Il-76TD cargo plane at Asosa Airport, which Mereja covered on Wednesday. Red Sea Axis, an account that covers the region, noted on Wednesday that earlier satellite investigations had identified vehicle deliveries at Ethiopia's Asosa military base. In April, the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health published a special report titled "Military Assistance to RSF Occurring at ENDF Base in Asosa, Ethiopia," saying satellite imagery showed activity consistent with commercial carriers delivering unarmed technicals, logistics material and tents to the base between late December and late March, and vehicles being fitted with heavy machine-gun mounts. A follow-up report in June said the support continued through May, including the repainting of vehicles in RSF colors.

The Ethiopian Government has not commented on the convoy or on the Dire Dawa flight. At the UN Security Council on October 16, Ethiopia's ambassador, Tesfaye Yilma Sabo, rejected Sudan's accusations as "baseless," the Abay Times reported. Mereja could not find any statement from the Somaliland administration or the Berbera port authorities on the convoy by Thursday afternoon.

The UAE has repeatedly denied arming the RSF. In September, its mission in Geneva rejected claims of involvement in Sudan's war and called for an end to foreign military support to the warring parties, Gulf News reported.

In Sudan, AfriMEOSINT this week also shared satellite imagery from the European Union's Copernicus program that it said confirmed extensive damage at the Amiet market in the disputed Abyei area after a drone strike by the Sudanese Armed Forces that reportedly killed more than 153 people. It also posted imagery that it said showed smoke rising from the main electricity substation in Tandatli, White Nile State, after an RSF strike using what it said were UAE-origin one-way attack drones.

Sources

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