Annotated satellite images of the UAE military base at Berbera airport in Somaliland, marking burn scars near what AfriMEOSINT labels ammunition and weapons depots, posted on X on November 12, 2026. Credit: AfriMEOSINT (@AfriMEOSINT) on X.
An open source analyst says satellite images show burn scars at the UAE military base at Berbera airport in Somaliland, suggesting that an underground arms and ammunition depot was destroyed between October 8 and 13.
AfriMEOSINT, an account that tracks military flights and bases around the Red Sea, called it a mysterious incident in a post on Thursday. It said the underground depots were built near the airport last year, and its annotated images compare the site before and after those dates, with two burn scars marked beside a group of structures it labels as ammunition and weapons depots. The account did not say what caused the damage, and it did not report any casualties.
In later posts the account said images from October 15 showed what it called an unusual visitor on the main apron, a cargo plane about 50 meters long that it said may have been an Il-76TD linked to the UAE government. It also said roads have recently been paved inside one of the base’s storage areas for military equipment and supplies.
The UAE agreed with Somaliland in 2017 to set up a military base at Berbera, and Dubai’s DP World runs the nearby port. Neither the Somaliland government nor the UAE has commented publicly on the images, and Mereja Media found no report of an explosion or fire at the base from Somaliland officials or local media by Thursday evening.
Other accounts read the images more cautiously. MEBriefNews, a Middle East news account, wrote that the activity does not by itself point to a new base and may reflect a phase of upgrading. In replies on X, one user wrote that Somaliland had picked the right partner in the UAE, while another raised the UAE’s alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which the UAE denies. Mereja Media has not been able to verify the satellite findings independently.
Berbera was also at the center of a separate dispute this week. Mereja Media reported on Somaliland’s demand that Djibouti’s port authority correct a claim about training for Berbera Port staff.
Sources
- AfriMEOSINT on X, incident at the UAE military base at Berbera Airport, Nov 12
- AfriMEOSINT on X, cargo aircraft on the Berbera apron on October 15, Nov 12
- AfriMEOSINT on X, new paved roads in a Berbera storage facility, Nov 12
- MEBriefNews on X, analysis of the Berbera reports, Nov 12
- Mereja Media, Somaliland demands correction after Djibouti port authority claim on Berbera staff