| By AP News Photos: YouTube Screenshots The Sudanese government accused the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday of providing weapons to its rival paramilitary force and prolonging the 17-month war. The UAE called the allegations “utterly false” and “baseless.” Read more. |
| What to know: Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to Darfur and other regions. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the country is engulfed in a humanitarian crisis. Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed accused the UAE of providing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, with heavy weapons, missiles and ammunition – and of “profiting from this war through the illegal exploitation of gold.” As evidence, he cited a recent weapons shipment that went through Chad to the RSF and he also claimed that a European bullion market has confirmed that the UAE is profiting from Sudanese gold. The UAE’s ambassador, Mohamed Abushahab, called Sudan’s claims “a cynical attempt to deflect attention from the failings of the Sudanese Armed Forces”, or SAF. He accused its military of showing “zero political courage,” using starvation as a weapon of war, and refusing to heed calls to end the war and come to the negotiating table. |
