The relationship between the Sudanese military and the United Arab Emirates is experiencing increasing strain

For a prolonged period, Sudan’s military remained silent over claims of Emirati meddling in the nation’s civil war. However, tensions have escalated, leading to bitter exchanges between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi.

The intense conflict, which erupted in mid-April between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has resulted in over 12,000 deaths and displaced millions. General Yasser al-Atta, second-in-command of the army under chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, publicly condemned the United Arab Emirates in November. He labeled the UAE a “state mafia” and accused it of taking an evil path by backing the RSF and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Atta alleged that the UAE was channeling weapons to the RSF via Chad, Uganda, and the Central African Republic, aided by the Wagner Group, Russian mercenaries previously active in Bangui. He also implicated Khalifa Haftar, the eastern Libyan leader, in facilitating paramilitary supplies.

The UAE did not respond to requests for comment on these allegations. Until November, Sudan’s army had refrained from publicly making these claims.

Jalel Harchaoui, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), noted that the Burhan camp had previously exercised caution, avoiding direct confrontations with key figures like Libya’s Haftar, Russia, and Abu Dhabi. However, the army has now publicly aired its grievances and instructed the foreign ministry to expel 15 UAE diplomats.

In August, a Wall Street Journal report revealed that aid shipments to Sudanese refugees in Chad contained weapons intended for the RSF, a claim the UAE denied. Alex de Waal, an expert on Sudan, stated that UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed and RSF chief Daglo have a longstanding relationship, dating back to Daglo’s provision of paramilitaries for the Saudi-Emirati intervention in Yemen in 2015. Daglo also reportedly engages in profitable gold trading with the UAE.

Observers suggest that many of the UAE’s support lines in Sudan are clandestine. Andreas Krieg of King’s College London described the UAE’s actions in Sudan as strategically discreet with plausible deniability.

Despite tepid international condemnation of Emirati interference, tensions erupted in November when pro-army protesters in Port Sudan called for the expulsion of the Emirati ambassador. Subsequently, Sudan’s acting foreign minister Ali al-Sadiq stated that the UAE had expelled Sudanese diplomats, prompting Sudan to reciprocate.

The Sudanese foreign ministry then declared 15 UAE diplomats persona non grata. This act, according to Harchaoui, can be seen as a desperate move by a force with diminishing options. Despite neither side gaining a decisive military upper hand, the RSF now dominates the streets of Khartoum and Darfur and is extending its influence in the south.

Burhan’s bold stance is possibly aimed at drawing more international attention and criticism towards the UAE’s alleged illicit arms support for Daglo.