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The UAE’s hidden hand in Sudan’s humanitarian crisis
The war in Sudan between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that the United Arab Emirates is playing a role in prolonging it.
Passports recovered from battlefields in Sudan suggest the United Arab Emirates is covertly putting boots on the ground to support the RSF — a charge the UAE denies. The allegations come after a UN report surfaced evidence the UAE has provided weapons to the RSF to the degree many analysts believe that “without the UAE’s alleged involvement, the conflict driving the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis would already be over.”
Why would the UAE support the war? Sudan is key, militarily and economically, to the UAE’s strategy in Africa and the Middle East. Militarily, it has sourced fighters from both factions to join its conflict in Yemen. Economically, it is the primary importer of Sudan’s gold, and it plans to develop ports along its Red Sea coast. Meanwhile, Iran is supplying weapons to SAF, and Russia is supporting both sides in exchange for access to a strategic Red Sea port.
The United States plans to revive peace talks next month in Switzerland, where the UAE is invited to attend as an observer. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield says Washington has “engaged” with the UAE on the issue. But Washington faces accusations of hypocrisy, as it calls for an end to weapons supplies in Sudan while continuing to provide billions’ worth to Israel during its offensive on Gaza.
A member of the Sudanese Armed forces walks between damaged buildings, almost one year into the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Omdurman, Sudan, April 7, 2024.
US leads effort for cease-fire in Sudan
The US is spearheading a new effort for a cease-fire in Sudan, inviting both sides in the civil war to talks in Switzerland set to begin on Aug. 14.
“The scale of death, suffering, and destruction in Sudan is devastating. This senseless conflict must end,” Secretary of State Antony Blinkensaid this week. “We urge the parties to stop the fighting for the sake of a brighter future for Sudan.”
The 15-month-old war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, militia has had a devastating impact on civilians, forcing over 10 million people from their homes and sparking a major humanitarian crisis. Civilians in Sudan are facing "indiscriminate and widespread" violence, according to a recent report from Doctors Without Borders.
Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, chief of the RSF, agreed to attend the talks in Switzerland. But we’ll be watching to see whether the Sudanese army, which hasn’t responded to the invitation yet, also turns up.
Sudanese families wait outside a hospital while doctors and medical staff strike to protest late salaries, bringing the struggling health sector in the city of Port Sudan to almost a complete halt as thousands of displaced Sudanese flooded the city due to the raging war in Khartoum, Sudan, August 20, 2023.
Sudan’s paramilitaries shut key city’s last hospital
In moreterrible news for civilians in Sudan, fighting in the country’s civil war has forced the closure of el-Fasher’s last open hospital. This city is the final stronghold of government forces fighting the RSF, a paramilitary group. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering in the city.
On Saturday, RSF fighters reportedly opened fire, looted drugs and medical equipment, assaulted hospital staff, and stole an ambulance. The hospital had repeatedly come under RSF fire over the past two weeks.
The civil war has killed at least 15,000 people since April 2023, and nearly nine million have been displaced. The RSF is a collection of what was once the Janjaweed militia groups, which have committed atrocities in Darfur. Both the RSF and government forces have been accused of crimes against civilians during this conflict.
Doctors, with support fromMédecins Sans Frontières, a medical relief organization, will try to shift hospital operations to a rundown Saudi-built hospital further from the frontlines, but that building doesn’t yet have electricity, fuel, or water. An MSF spokesperson says trapped and injured civilians in the city will not receive basic care for at least a week.
People hold pots as volunteers distribute food in Omdurman, Sudan, September 3, 2023
Sudan descends into disaster
A United Nations report delivered to the UN Security Council Friday has found that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed last year in the city of El Geneina in the West Darfur region of Sudan. This exceeds the UN’s original estimate of 12,000 deaths following six months of ethnic violence committed by the country’s Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militia against its Masalit minority.
In the report, UN monitors describe as “credible” accusations that the United Arab Emirates furnished military support to the RSF via northern Chad.
In response, a UAE spokesperson denied that the country was “supplying arms and ammunition to any of the warring parties” and claimed it does not favor either side.
A humanitarian crisis
One thing no one can deny is that Sudan is in crisis on multiple levels. Doctors Without Borders says half of Khartoum’s 6 million people have no access to healthcare. The city itself has descended into a lawless anarchy replete with sexual violence. And the displacement of farmers has left five million people at risk of starvation.
With the world’s focus divided between wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as geopolitical tensions between the US, China, Russia, and Iran, this fresh catastrophe in Sudan once again risks being ignored until it is too late.