{"id":838729,"date":"2026-11-04T06:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838729"},"modified":"2026-11-04T06:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:20:00","slug":"new-footage-puts-uae-linked-cargo-jets-and-pickup-trucks-on-boles-apron-flight-tracker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838729","title":{"rendered":"New footage puts UAE linked cargo jets and pickup trucks on Bole’s apron, flight tracker says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Annotated<\/figure>\n

A geolocation graphic published on X on November 3, 2026 by the flight tracker AfriMEOSINT, which says it shows footage of the Bole International Airport cargo apron in Addis Ababa matched to satellite imagery, with Il 76 cargo aircraft parked nearby. Mereja Media could not verify the footage independently. Image: AfriMEOSINT (@AfriMEOSINT) via X<\/em><\/p>\n

A flight tracker on X said new footage geolocated to Addis Ababa’s Bole airport shows pickup trucks unloaded from a Boeing 747 freighter from the UAE, with Il 76 cargo planes parked behind.<\/p>\n

The account, AfriMEOSINT, which tracks military and cargo flights in Africa and the Middle East, posted the video early on Tuesday, November 3. It said the footage showed Toyota Land Cruiser pickups being taken off the Boeing 747 freighter registered ER MAM after the plane arrived from Al Ain Airport in the United Arab Emirates, and that “at least four UAE linked Il 76TDs are also parked behind, operating daily flights to Asosa and Bahir Dar with RSF supplies,” a reference to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Mereja Media could not independently verify where or when the video was filmed, what the vehicles were for, or where they went after they left the plane.<\/p>\n

About two hours later the account published what it called a geolocation, matching the footage to the cargo area of Bole International Airport and placing the Ilyushin aircraft on the cargo apron. “As I reported in August, these aircraft arrive from the UAE and park here before flying onwards to Asosa and Bahir Dar,” it wrote. In a further post it argued that Bole is probably the only Ethiopian airport that can handle the 747s, so the pickups are likely moved onto the smaller Il 76 planes for the flight to Asosa, near the Sudanese border. “That suggests a rapid supply operation, with speed taking priority over cost despite an active overland route through Somaliland,” it said.<\/p>\n

The new video follows a post on Sunday, November 1, that the account labeled exclusive, in which it said the freighter, which it linked to the UAE government and said is operated by Pecotox Air, had flown 13 times from Al Ain to Bole since October 11 carrying pickups, and that the vehicles “will likely end up in RSF hands.” The same day, the account said it had recorded at least 81 suspicious cargo flights between the UAE and Ethiopia in October, the highest monthly total it had ever logged, with about 23 of them flown by Boeing 747 freighters from Al Ain to Bole. On Monday it reported two more Il 76 flights leaving the UAE for Ethiopia, one of which it said was likely bound for Asosa.<\/p>\n

The claims matter in Sudan because of what the vehicles could become. Sudan’s government has filed complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council accusing Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks on Sudanese towns and power stations to be launched from its territory, as Mereja Media reported on Tuesday. The Rapid Support Forces have mounted machine guns on Land Cruiser pickups throughout the war with the Sudanese army, according to widely published footage and reporting on the conflict.<\/p>\n

Sudanese voices on X were quick to draw that line. Al Haqiqa (@alhkikanet), an online magazine that says it documents crimes against Sudanese civilians, posted the footage under the heading “Ethiopian complicity in the genocide of the Sudanese people,” writing that the 747 flights from Al Ain together with the daily Il 76 flights through Asosa and Bahir Dar showed direct Ethiopian involvement. Another user, Mohammed bin Amash (@MashMhmdbn2852), sent the original post about the pickups to Lana Nusseibeh, the Emirati diplomat who is seeking a top United Nations post and who has faced questions about her country’s role in Sudan. The UAE has repeatedly denied supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia’s government has not publicly addressed the footage. Because Ethiopian Airlines runs the cargo terminal at Bole, Mereja Media sent the airline’s corporate communications office questions on Tuesday evening, asking whether ER MAM had been handled there since October 11 and how many times, whether its cargo included pickup trucks and who received them, whether any goods were moved at Bole onto aircraft flying to Asosa or Bahir Dar, and whether the airline had any comment on the claim that the cargo was meant for the Rapid Support Forces. No reply had been received at the time of publication. The airline had been asked to respond by 5 AM Eastern time on Wednesday. Mereja Media also asked Ethiopia’s Government Communication Service on November 1 about the UAE cargo flights and has not received an answer.<\/p>\n

AfriMEOSINT’s earlier reporting on the airlift has not been confirmed by Ethiopian or Emirati officials, and the account’s identifications of individual aircraft rely on public flight tracking data and imagery that Mereja Media cannot fully check. The account said it would keep tracking the flights.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n