For months, Sudan’s army kept silent amid alleged Emirati interference in the country’s civil war. The brutal conflict broke out in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing more than 12,000 people and displacing millions. In November, General Yasser al-Atta, second-in-command to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, openly denounced the United Arab Emirates, accusing the country of funnelling weapons to the RSF.
The UAE denied the report, saying it “does not take sides in the current conflict.” Experts have warned of the existence of such a supply line since the start of the war, but until November Sudan’s army had not made the accusation publicly. In August, the Wall Street Journal said aid shipments intended for Sudanese refugees in Chad had been found to contain weapons destined for the RSF.
Nevertheless, with rumours having swirled for months, tensions came to a head in November when hundreds of pro-army demonstrators took to the streets in the eastern city of Port Sudan demanding the expulsion of the Emirati ambassador. In December, Sudan’s acting foreign minister said that Abu Dhabi had expelled Sudanese diplomats from the UAE and that Sudan had declared 15 UAE diplomats as persona non grata.
