It’s an open secret: the UAE is fuelling Sudan’s war - and there’ll be no peace until we call it out

It’s an open secret: the UAE is fuelling Sudan’s war - and there’ll be no peace until we call it out
Husam Mahjoub
Husam Mahjoub

The Emirates is arming and supporting one side in the conflict, but UK and US officials have shied from confronting it
Fri 24 May 2024 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 24 May 2024 07.07 EDT

The war in Sudan has become one of the worst ongoing humanitarian crises in the world. In a little over a year of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), there have been 6.8 million people internally displaced, 2 million fleeing the country, and 24.8 million, almost half the population, in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

The United Arab Emirates is the foreign player most invested in the war. In fact, without its direct and all-around support, the RSF would not have been able to wage war to the same extent.

Sudan is key to the UAE’s strategy in Africa and the Middle East, aimed at achieving political and economic hegemony while curbing democratic aspirations. Since 2015, it has sourced fighters from both factions to join its conflict in Yemen. It is the primary importer of Sudan’s gold and has multibillion-dollar plans to develop ports along Sudan’s Red Sea coast. By supporting the RSF in Sudan, it has undermined the democratic transition that followed the 2019 ouster of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s dictator for 30 years.

Upon the outbreak of war, it reportedly established logistical operations to send weapons to the RSF through its networks in Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda and the Haftar and Wagner militias. It has reportedly disguised armament and supplies as humanitarian aid. In addition, RSF business, finance, logistics and PR operations are carried out from the UAE. Injured fighters are reportedly airlifted to be treated in an Abu Dhabi military hospital. And Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the RSF commander, is said to have visited a few African countries on board an Emirati airplane belonging to a company owned by an Emirati royal and adviser to the president.

I’m still learning about the Sudanese conflict but the RSF are the Janjaweed. Same guys that did for Darfur a decade ago.

The Middle Eastern monarchies are doing glow-up PR pieces for their states in Eumerican media about how they’re becoming progressive, but in practice they’re regional powers playing exactly the kind of dirty pool that cranks up the casualties.