As the conflict in Sudan worsens, several intelligence briefings and international investigations have linked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to alleged arms supplies and financial networks tied to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
This comes amid the escalation of fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The RSF, a powerful paramilitary group, captured El-Fasher on October 26, following heavy clashes with the army. The fall of the city — Darfur’s last major urban centre under government control — marked a major shift in Sudan’s two-year civil war.
According to the United Nations, the conflict between the RSF and SAF, which began in April 2023, has displaced more than 12 million people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
A Wall Street Journal report, citing US intelligence sources, said the UAE has allegedly channelled Chinese-made drones, artillery, mortars, armoured vehicles, and small arms to the RSF through regional intermediaries. Middle Eastern outlets, including Middle East Eye, also referenced these findings.
A Guardian report on Tuesday, October 28, said UK-manufactured vehicle engines and targeting systems, originally exported to the UAE, were later found in RSF-held areas of Sudan. The report said the findings suggested possible re-export through Emirati channels, raising compliance questions under arms-control rules.
A separate investigation by The Sentry, a Washington-based research group, alleged that RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) operates Dubai-registered companies that trade conflict gold from Sudan, converting the proceeds into hard currency to fund the group’s operations.
A United Nations panel of experts described these allegations as credible, but there has been no evidence that the UAE government directly supplied weapons to the RSF.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has categorically denied any role in supplying weapons or financial support to the RSF.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 22, the ministry said the UAE “has not supplied arms or military support to any party in Sudan’s conflict” and reaffirmed its “commitment to peace, stability, and a return to civilian rule.”
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, said the fall of El-Fasher “requires careful thought and realism,” stressing that “the political path remains the only option to end the civil war.”
The UAE is a member of the Quad—alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States—which has been working on ceasefire and humanitarian coordination efforts in Sudan. Emirati officials say the country continues to deliver medical supplies, field hospitals, and food aid through Port Sudan.
Earlier this year, Sudan brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing the UAE of complicity in genocide, but the court dismissed it on jurisdictional grounds.
The RSF’s seizure of El-Fasher followed an 18-month siege, cutting off humanitarian access to hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The Sudanese government said at least 2,000 people were killed in the city, while the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 36,000 people fled between October 26 and 29.
Civilians escaping the city described harrowing scenes. A mother of three told Reuters that as she fled, “RSF were chasing us, firing missiles ahead and behind.” Witnesses reported that those attempting to flee by car were burned alive inside their vehicles as the RSF targeted escape routes.
Satellite analysis by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab and imagery from Airbus DS, cited by The Telegraph, revealed large bloodstained areas and human remains near RSF positions—evidence consistent with mass killings and ethnic-based attacks, according to researchers
Videos emerging on social media — some verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit — appear to show RSF fighters detaining and lashing civilians in and around El-Fasher. Other clips seem to depict fighters firing on people attempting to flee.
The discovery of mass graves, corroborated by satellite and eyewitness evidence, has triggered widespread condemnation.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed more than 460 deaths at the Saudi Maternity Hospital. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.
Video from inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital showed a wounded man being killed amid blood-stained bodies
In London, Sudan’s ambassador Babikir Elamin urged the UK government to suspend arms sales to the UAE after British-made equipment surfaced in Sudan.
He told The Telegraph that Emirati support was “the single most important element in prolonging and enabling this genocide.”
In a post on X, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” by the recent escalation in El-Fasher. He described the city as “an epicentre of suffering” where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped under siege by the RSF.
“I reiterate my call for an immediate end to the siege and hostilities, and for safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid delivery to all civilians in need,” Guterres said, urging both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to take “swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement.”
Reuters reported that US lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to review foreign networks linked to the Sudan conflict and support stronger humanitarian aid efforts.
With the RSF now controlling most of Darfur and parts of central Sudan, fears are growing that the country could fragment further, more than a decade after the independence of South Sudan.
