Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
By John Albert
Background
In the past few years, UAE has raised itself from an economic power to a regional hegemony in the middle east, specifically, its increasing power in controlling waters: Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Eden, Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. The first water, Gulf of Oman, as UAE borders it, shares power on it with others like the Iranians. While Gulf of Eden is in their control or at least they have clear influence thanks to their involvement in Yemen empowering the factions like Southern Transitional Council (STC), Giants Brigades (Al-Amaliqa) and Salafi Militias & Elite Brigades. It has played a major and multifaceted role in Yemen’s conflict, shaping both military and political dynamics. UAE does this to secure strategic coastlines and shipping lanes, especially around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Socotra Island, to bolster its position as a regional trade hub. In addition, they have been trying to control the Gulf of Eden from the Somaliland side via their Ethiopian puppet, Abiy Ahmed.
The UAE is extending its control over the waters of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean by directly involving itself in the internal affairs of several countries. The disaster in Sudan was created by two rival powers: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The UAE, by backing the RSF, has been deeply implicated in Sudan’s ongoing civil war and humanitarian disaster, with its role sparking major international controversy. The UAE has supplied the RSF with weapons, drones, armored vehicles, and logistical support through networks spanning Libya, Chad, and Ethiopia. The pretext for this involvement is that the UAE seeks access to Sudan’s gold mines, agricultural land, and the Red Sea port of Port Sudan. The consequences of this disastrous conflict are severe: it has displaced 13 million people and left 25 million facing acute hunger.
Through its influence in Libya, the UAE has also shown interest in playing a role in the Mediterranean Sea. It has played a major and evolving role in Libya’s conflict since 2011, shaping military, political, and economic dynamics. Initially, it directly supported General Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) in eastern Libya. But after 2021, due to international pressure, the UAE reduced its direct involvement and maintained its influence quietly through Salafi-Madkhali networks and local proxies, avoiding overt intervention.
Today, the UAE is galvanizing a war within Ethiopia, as it did in Libya and is currently doing in Sudan. This time, it supports the government itself by backing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Abiy managed to crush his opponents in the north—the TPLF forces—in a two-year war, using modern drones from the UAE, killing more than 600,000 Tigrayan fighters between November 2020 and November 2022. In the past three years, Abiy has launched another confrontation with Fano forces in the Amhara region, again using UAE drones and military assistance. These operations have killed civilians, burned farmland, and destroyed schools and health stations. UAE’s drones are active in the Oromia region as well. Ethiopia, a country of 130 million people, is on the verge of total collapse and disaster. No place is safe today in Ethiopia under Abiy Ahmed: Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, and beyond.
That was not enough for the UAE—it is reportedly pushing Abiy daily to go to war with Eritrea so that it can gain control of Assab for the UAE. The UAE is exerting maximum influence on the Ethiopian prime minister to start a war with Eritrea and the so-called “4-killo government,” which some describe as a terrorist regime that took power by surprise and charm. If this war breaks out, let the world be ready for the total disorder in east Africa for the coming decades. The UAE should be stopped in helping the puppet, terrorist government in Ethiopia.
Given the UAE influence, where are the USA and EU and UK?
The USA seems to start to see the pattern UAE is doing across the region. The Washington Post highlights the growing global outrage over the UAE’s alleged support for Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). U.S. lawmakers are pushing to block arms sales to the UAE over its alleged role in fueling Sudan’s war. Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, repeatedly stressed that “something needs to be done to cut off the weapons and the support that the RSF is getting”, calling for immediate action to halt arms flows. Good start. What about Europe? Why does the EU follow these developments quietly? When UAE influence grows to its doors to the Mediterranean Sea, the EU and UK is not forcefully stopping a small nation with population 11 million amassing such influence in all these waters?
There are growing concerns about the UAE’s expanding influence and military capabilities. Is the UAE being helped by the western forces? Why are they silent on it? As it was rumored, the USA used Osama Bil Laden, during the Soviet-Afghan war, and later he became number one terrorist on the globe. Today, the UAE is reportedly producing modern drones, including so-called “suicide drones” (SD), and testing them in conflict zones such as Sudan and Ethiopia. Reports suggest that Ethiopia’s government, under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has begun producing hundreds of such drones, SD, allegedly with UAE sponsorship. The SD’s efficiency and capacity are being tested in ongoing conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan. If the UAE were to gain control over strategic waterways, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and others—it could theoretically project significant military power. Critics argue that if there is little regard for African lives in these conflicts, it raises questions about future global security risks. Suicide drones are increasingly seen as the next generation of warfare, and many believe urgent international action is needed to prevent escalation. Action is needed to contain UAEs influence in the African continent, especially in these water lines.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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“As of late 2025, the United States leads significantly in gold reserves (around 8,133 tonnes)…” it is the United States of America and Isreali governement behind much of the instability or backings of destabilizing Africa.
“As of late 2025, the United States leads significantly in gold reserves (around 8,133 tonnes), followed by Germany (3,350t), Italy (2,451t), and France (2,437t), with Russia and China”