Sudan accuses the UAE of fuelling the war by supplying weapons to rival paramilitaries. UAE calls accusation “ridiculous”

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sudan’s government accused the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday of fueling the 14-month war in the African country by supplying weapons to a rival paramilitary force. The UAE dismissed the accusation as “ridiculous” and called it a “shameful abuse by one of the warring parties.”

The clashes occurred during a UN Security Council meeting at which Deputy Secretary-General Martha Pobee warned that atrocities were being committed along ethnic lines in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

She called for an immediate ceasefire in North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher, which is under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, “to prevent further atrocities, protect critical infrastructure and alleviate the suffering of civilians.”

Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of “starting their war against the Sudanese military in a destructive manner” and attacking civilians with weapons support from the United Arab Emirates.

He said Sudan had evidence that the UAE was supplying weapons and the government would submit a file on the UAE’s actions to the International Criminal Court.

United Arab Emirates Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said these were “false allegations” and demanded to know why the Sudanese government was refusing to return to peace talks.

Addressing the Sudanese ambassador sitting next to him at the Security Council’s horseshoe-shaped table, Abushahab said: “You should stop trying to create sensationalism in international forums like this one and instead take responsibility for ending the conflict you started.”

UN experts monitoring an arms embargo in Darfur reported in January “credible” evidence that the United Arab Emirates was sending weapons to the Rapid Support Forces from northern Chad several times a week. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Tuesday reiterated a US appeal to all “external actors to stop fuelling and prolonging this conflict and enabling these atrocities by sending weapons to Sudan.”

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Sudan’s Mohamed called on the Council to “go one step further and name and denounce the United Arab Emirates.”

Edem Wosornu, director of operations for the UN humanitarian office, told the council that the lives of 800,000 civilians trapped in El Fasher were “at stake”. He reiterated the risk of mass atrocities and warned that the violence in the besieged city was “just the tip of the iceberg”.

She said millions of people in Darfur have been affected by indiscriminate bombings, sexual violence remains widespread and “famine is imminent.” Nearly 5 million people are facing food shortages and more than 2 million people in 41 “hunger hotspots are at grave risk of sliding into famine in the coming weeks,” Wosornu said.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, primarily by the notorious Arab Janjaweed militias, who targeted populations identifying as Central or East African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million displaced from their homes.

In mid-April 2023, Sudan plunged back into conflict when long-simmering tensions between the army and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions such as Darfur. According to the UN, over 14,000 people were killed and 33,000 injured.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were formed from Janjaweed fighters by then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown in a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

Last Thursday, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling on the Rapid Support Forces to immediately end their siege of El Fasher, the only capital in Darfur not under their control. The Council also called on paramilitary forces and the Sudanese military to “seek an immediate cessation of hostilities.”