This is the UAE’s Years-Long Plan to Fuel the Civil War in Sudan
Sources have revealed the UAE’s long-term plan to fuel the civil war in Sudan, including its authorization and training of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias, under the pretext of participating in the conflict in Yemen.
According to reports, Sudanese RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, visited Yemen in 2017 in coordination with Abu Dhabi. This visit occurred during Sudanese military participation in the Saudi-led coalition’s operations against the Houthis, which began in 2015.
Yemeni military sources quoted by Arabi 21 indicated that Hemeti met with Major General Haitham Qasim Taher, the former Yemeni Defense Minister and a separatist leader backed by Abu Dhabi. At that time, the RSF was engaged in combat against Houthi forces and supporters of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh as part of the UAE-Saudi-led coalition.
The source also shared that Hemeti remained in Yemen for several days, before departing on a private plane to the UAE. The sources further confirmed that Abu Dhabi established camps in both the UAE and Eritrea’s Assab Island to recruit and train Sudanese fighters within the RSF, under the guise of supporting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
In these camps, UAE officers and intelligence personnel trained Sudanese recruits, forming military units loyal to Abu Dhabi. This was part of a broader effort to prepare the RSF to execute agendas in Sudan, facilitating their eventual return as a parallel military force against the Sudanese state.
Sources also reported that Abu Dhabi was actively mobilizing and financing the RSF forces, using the Yemen conflict as a platform to prepare for the ongoing war in Sudan. These efforts, coordinated with Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir, set the stage for the RSF’s growing power in Sudan.
Abu Dhabi’s involvement extended beyond the Yemen conflict, as it used Sudanese participation to enhance the RSF’s combat readiness. The Sudanese forces, which included thousands of troops, gained significant combat experience while being trained and armed by the UAE. Furthermore, the RSF also played a pivotal role in training and preparing forces such as the UAE-backed Salafist “Giants” brigades and the Southern Transitional Council.
A third military source also highlighted the strategic importance of Sudan’s involvement in Yemen, noting that Sudanese forces were crucial in supporting the legitimate Yemeni government, especially through training missions that bolstered the fighting capacity of Yemeni forces. These Sudanese units, under Riyadh’s supervision, were positioned on the southern border of Yemen, playing a key role in shaping the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
