The UAE conducted a covert operation in Sudan's civil war, supplying weapons and drones and treating wounded RSF militia fighters, The New York Times reported on Friday.
According to the report, the operation operated from an airport and a field hospital in the town of Amdjarases, across the Sudanese border in Chad. There, Emirati cargo planes have landed daily since June. Since fighting broke out in April, 5,000 people have died in the war and displaced more than 4 million people. On the other hand, the UAE claims that its operation near the border is purely humanitarian.
Attack attributed to Ukraine on pro-Russian forces in Sudan (archive)
Since the planes began landing in Chad, images have emerged of a field hospital where the Emirati News Agency said more than 6,000 patients had been treated in the past three months. The videos show the Emiratis dropping aid packages and renovating schools.
The UAE says the motive is to help refugees, many of whom have fled fighting in the Darfur region. However, the report stressed that barely 250 refugees had registered in the town, according to the UN refugee agency. It also said that 420,<> Sudanese refugees were a few hundred kilometers south in camps with harsh conditions.
According to the report, the UAE is using the aid mission to disguise military support for RSF militia leader Mohammed Hamdan Dekelo (Hamidti). "The UAE sees Hamidati as their man," a former U.S. official told the newspaper. "We've seen it elsewhere — they take one guy and then back him up all the way."
Officially, the UAE is pushing for reconciliation. It is also a member of a group of countries that includes the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia, which tries to mediate between the sides in order to complete the periodic negotiations between the sides and end the conflict.
The UAE's foreign ministry denies it. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs (archive), photo: AP
But in the meantime, according to The New York Times, Emirati weapons are fueling the conflict it supposedly seeks to resolve. According to American and Sudanese officials, in recent weeks fighters from the RSF militia have used Kornet anti-tank missiles supplied to them by the United Arab Emirates. Their target was a fortified armored corps base in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The Emirati foreign ministry did not respond to questions but has previously denied providing support to any side in the war. U.S. officials have expressed disappointment with Abu Dhabi's growing ties with Russia and China. While the UAE president is considered an ally of Washington, his apparent support for the RSF militia aligns with Russia's mercenaries.
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