As Sudan plunges deeper into a humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing civil war, the United Arab Emirates has been accused of prolonging the 17-month war by supporting and aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies. Despite the UAE dismissing these claims as "false" and "ludicrous", several evidence have been presented by the Sudanese government and army, alleging Abu Dhabi's involvement in the war.
The ongoing war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, is the third major civil war in the African nation. Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has been in some of the worst wars, resulting in the killing and displacement of millions. Since April 2023, around 15,000 people have been killed in Sudan and over 8.2 million people have been displaced - sparking the world's largest displacement crisis.
As the war rages on, the tensions between the Sudanese government and the United Arab Emirates are also escalating. The two states recently clashed during a UN Security Council meeting in July where Sudan put forth its allegations against Abu Dhabi.
Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Al-Harith Mohamed accused the UAE of providing the RSF with heavy weapons, missiles and ammunition. Al-Harith further added that the UAE has been “profiting from this war through the illegal exploitation of gold.”
However, these statements were met with UAE's wrath as the country's UN Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab called the allegations against Abu Dhabi "a cynical attempt to deflect attention from the failings of the Sudanese Armed Forces".
Background Of The War
From UK-Egypt control of the nation in the 20th century to the creation of South Sudan in 2011, the African nation has had a turbulent past.
The first civil war took place from 1955 to 1972 between North and South Sudan. In the 17 years of this war, over a million people died. The first civil war ended with the Addis Ababa Agreement. However, the agreement failed to stop the tensions between Sudan and the southern region, ultimately leading to a second war.
The second civil war was held from 1983 to 2005. During this war, Omar al-Bashir led a military coup against the government and took over as the new president and dictator.
Bashir's regime oversaw a majority of the Second Civil War, the succession of South Sudan in 2011 and the conflict in Darfur.
The Darfur war broke out in 2003 and has been labelled as one of the worst genocides against non-Arab populations by the International Criminal Court and the US State Department.
Bashir remained in power till 2019 when he was overthrown by the coup from the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Following the coup in 2019, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was named as the de-facto ruler. Under the SAF general, the third civil war broke out with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies - the Janjaweed coalition and the third front known as Tamazuj.
Along with the RSF, three minor factions have also engaged in the fighting - the Darfur Joint Protection Force and two factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement army under Abdul Wahid al-Nur and Abdelaziz al-Hilu, respectively.
Is The UAE Involved In The Sudan War?
Weeks after the war broke out between the SAF and RSF, on April 24, 2023, a 72-hour ceasefire was announced in Sudan after peace talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
During the truce, it was learnt that foreign nations had interfered in the conflict and the spotlight came on UAE. It was alleged that RSF is being supported by the Libyan militia leader Khalifa Haftar and the United Arab Emirates.
Adding to these allegations, the SAF pointed to the use of thermobaric shells supplied by the UAE. Following this revelation, Egypt began to supply military support to the SAF.
Backing SAF's allegations against Abu Dhabi, UN sanctions monitors have stated there are "credible" accusations that the UAE is providing support to the RSF.
"The military aggression launched by the Rapid Support militia, supported with weapons by the Emirates, is deliberately and systematically targeting the villages and cities," the Sudanese ambassador further told the UNSC in July.
However, the UAE continues to deny its role in the Sudan war and has called for a cessation of hostilities on both sides.
The UAE has rejected all claims and called out the SAF's reluctance to participate in the peace talks.
"If they seek an end to the conflict and civilian suffering, then why won't they come to the Jeddah talks? Why are they blocking aid? What are you waiting for?" said UAE's UN envoy Abushahab in response to his Sudanese counterpart's allegations.
The SAF has skipped the peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while the RSF sent representatives to both locations for a peace deal.
Not only has the UAE been accused of aiding the RSF, but the Sudan civil war has also been recorded as a proxy war between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Apart from being rich in natural resources, Sudan is considered as the bridge between the Middle East and Africa. Major Gulf players such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have viewed the civil war as a chance to establish their status as the key player in the Middle East.
