Sudan Demands UAE Condemnation at Security Council

Sudan has heightened its measures against the UAE, pressing for condemnation from the UN Security Council due to allegations of supporting Rapid Support Forces militias and financing internal strife.
Sudan’s UN envoy, Al-Harith Idris, called on the Security Council to officially denounce the UAE and compel it to cease arming the Rapid Support Forces and financing combatants.
At a Security Council session focusing on Sudan’s situation, Idris emphasized that ‘formally condemning the UAE within the Council marks the necessary first step toward halting the conflict. This includes urging an end to arms supply to militias, financial support to combatants, and provision of advanced weaponry like the Javelin 148 missiles.’
He also stressed the necessity of issuing a resolution from the UN Security Council urging Abu Dhabi to stop supplying rapid support with weapons, fueling war, creating unrest, and displacing the Sudanese people.
Idris said that the Rapid Support Forces’ readiness for war was facilitated by ongoing military and logistical backing from the UAE, the primary regional supporter of the aggressive agenda. This support extends beyond weaponry to encompass political, media, and propaganda assistance, according to Idris.
“On March 29, Sudan formally complained with the Security Council against the UAE, alleging it of plotting to instigate conflict and backing the Rapid Support Forces militias with assistance from Chad.”
This month, an intelligence investigation confirmed that the UAE supports terrorism in Sudan by arming the Rapid Support Forces militias in the country, and is linked to the Wagner mercenary group on several fronts.
The investigation highlighted the UAE’s repeated attempt to deny its military involvement on the ground in Sudan and to claim that its presence in the region has purely humanitarian motives.
The inquiry revealed that between May and June 2023, a regional air surveillance network tracked 69 heavy-lift Il-76 aircraft flights between military airfields in the UAE and Amjaras, a city in southeastern Chad bordering Darfur.

On August 13, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs verified that the flights’ primary objective was to transport a hospital associated with the Emirates Red Crescent Society to Amjaras. However, satellite images from various sources suggest that the hospital could have been transported in five flights or fewer. By January, the frequency of such flights had risen to 122.
In the same month, a leaked United Nations document revealed “reliable” evidence that the UAE was arming the Rapid Support Forces, prompting Abu Dhabi to deny it again.
The investigation proved that the “Wagner” mercenary group utilized Emirati business channels to fund its operations in Sudan and throughout Africa. It engaged in the sale of gold and diamonds within the Emirati commodity market and funneled excess proceeds into the global financial system via Emirati banks.
The US Treasury has struggled to suppress this activity, which greatly benefits Moscow by enhancing its disproportionate influence in Africa and giving sanctioned oligarchs access to liquid funds.
At the same time, money passing through the UAE helps the Rapid Support Forces purchase military equipment that gives them tactical advantages in the internal war.
While the level of awareness within the Emirati leadership regarding the facilitation of these financial activities remains uncertain, numerous motives drive Abu Dhabi to back the Rapid Support Forces, potentially including tolerance towards Wagner associates within the group.
In addition to the commercial benefits resulting from tapping into the African mineral trade, any efforts made to support Hemedti could help the UAE develop its networks in Africa.
The Rapid Support Forces extended manpower assistance to the UAE upon request during the peak of the civil conflict in neighboring Yemen. Should Hemedti emerge victorious in Sudan, Abu Dhabi stands to gain a strategic ally in the Red Sea vicinity.
The intelligence investigation concluded that it may be appropriate to impose further sanctions and raise the level of public and private communication with Emirati officials if Emirati support for the Rapid Support Forces continues.
It stressed that any additional sanctions are supposed to go beyond the current efforts made by the US Treasury Department, which target the Emirati environment that is lenient with the financial networks linked to the “Wagner” mercenary group.