The UAE strongly denied arming any group in Sudan (Al Jazeera)

The United Arab Emirates has denied arming the paramilitary group at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces, after a leaked UN document cited “credible” evidence that it was sending weapons to the Rapid Support Forces.

The report, prepared by experts for the United Nations Security Council and seen by the Financial Times but not yet published, said that several shipments of weapons and ammunition are unloaded every week from cargo planes at an airport in Chad and delivered to the Rapid Support Forces on the Sudanese border.

The UAE strongly denied arming any group in Sudan

But the UAE strongly denied arming any group in Sudan, and told the UN committee that these flights carried humanitarian aid, including for a hospital it had established in Chad.

An Emirati official told the newspaper that the Gulf state “does not take sides in the current conflict,” adding that the UAE “continuously calls for a halt to escalation, a permanent ceasefire, and the start of a diplomatic dialogue” in Sudan.

Despite the UAE's denials, some analysts believe its alleged support was crucial in strengthening the RSF.

“If the UAE withdraws its support and cuts its ties with the Rapid Support Forces today, there is an 80% chance that the war could end tomorrow,” said Hamid Khalafallah, an expert on Sudan affairs and a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

The Rapid Support Forces, led by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, have been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of the country since April 2023. The government forces are led by the country’s de facto president and army commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Thousands dead and millions displaced

The military confrontations killed more than 13,000 people, forced about 7.6 million to flee, and left nearly 25 million - more than half of the country's population - in need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency.

Hemedti's militia now controls most of the Darfur region in western Sudan, which is its historical power base, and parts of the capital, Khartoum.

Last month, it took control of the country's second-largest city, Wad Medani, which had been the center of humanitarian relief efforts.

The United Nations report claimed that the Rapid Support Forces, which emerged from the Arab Janjaweed militia, and its allies, had committed atrocities in Darfur since the outbreak of the conflict that amounted to war crimes.


Hemedti exploited the country's resources to finance his war

Hemedti's militia exploited the country's natural resources to finance the war, according to the United Nations report.

The report said that the militia invested revenues from Sudan's gold trade - much of which it controlled before the war - in several industries, enabling it to "obtain weapons, pay salaries, finance media campaigns, exert pressure, and buy support for political organizations and other armed groups." ".

Six entities allegedly used by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to continue their war efforts were hit with sanctions from the European Union this week.

Fears of the continuation of the war

The Financial Times said that the conflict has attracted many other countries competing for influence in the strategically located Sudan, which borders the Red Sea and extends across the Middle East and Africa.

With no sign of the fighting abating, there are fears that the war in Sudan will continue.

As the conflict worsens, there is a risk that new groups will form and engage in local fighting, which could increase civilian suffering and make peace talks more difficult.

Source: Financial Times