By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
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KHARTOUM, 1 November 2026 – Sudan Armed Forces Assistant Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Yasser al-Atta has said mercenaries from Puntland are fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the group the Sudanese government is at war with.
Al-Atta included Puntland in a long list of countries and regions he said supply foreign fighters to the war in Sudan. He placed blame on the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.
"We are going to fight the very large number of mercenaries that Mohamed bin Zayed brought from Chad, Libya led by Khalifa Haftar, Niger and West African countries," al-Atta said.
He added that tens of thousands of fighters had come from South Sudan, while others had come from Ethiopia, Puntland and Colombia.
This is not the first time al-Atta has included Somalia in such accusations. In November 2025, he accused the UAE President of bringing mercenaries from countries including Colombia, Ukraine, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Niger and Somalia to fight alongside the RSF.
Puntland's name has previously appeared in international reports on the war in Sudan, particularly in connection with the city of Bosaso.
In 2025, Sudan submitted a report to the United Nations Security Council. The report said that Colombian mercenaries had been flown from the UAE to Bosaso and then transferred to Sudan.
Al-Atta's accusations come as relations between Somalia's federal government and the UAE have deteriorated. In January 2026, Somalia's Council of Ministers cancelled all agreements with the UAE, including those related to the port of Bosaso and security and defence agreements.
However, the Puntland administration rejected the federal government's decision, describing it as illegal. Puntland said it would continue its relationship with Abu Dhabi.