Instead of humanitarian aid, UAE pumping weapons, money into Sudan: UN Report

Oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been supplying weapons and money to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has been fighting the Sudan’s military since April in the ongoing civil war. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 7.6 million have been forced to abandon their homes in Sudan after a civil war broke out between two rival military factions. It is the largest displacement crisis in the world till date. A leaked United Nations report, obtained by The Globe and Mail, has revealed that one of the key sources providing fund and ammunitions to Sudan is the UAE. The report by a UN panel of experts on Sudan which has been submitted to the UN Security Council but has not yet been officially released, quoted sources specifying the route through which weapons are illegally sent to Sudan. Illicit Weapons Route As per the report, weapons and money are flown into eastern Chad from where they are loaded onto convoys of trucks and driven across the border to Darfur. The ammunition and money are then distributed among the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been fighting Sudan’s military in the war. Violation of arms embargo As per the report, the shipments of weapons began in June and were a violation of the UN arms embargo on Sudan. How weapons from UAE are proving beneficial to Sudan’s RSF? The weapons supplied by UAE has been enabling the RSF to escalate its operations by capturing cities in Darfur and shooting down Sudanese warplanes, the report said. “This new RSF firepower had a massive impact on the balance of forces on the ground,” it added. Also, the UAE, earlier this month, provided an airplane for the RSF’s top commander - Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - for him to fly to a series of African capitals and meet top African leaders to lobby for his cause. The report said “widespread sexual violence” are being committed by RSF members and allied militia in all areas under RSF control. “RSF placed snipers on the main roads that indiscriminately targeted civilians, including women, pregnant women, and youth," it added. The report also identifies the UAE as a key country in the RSF’s financial networks, which include gold-smuggling and proxy companies. UAE denies sending weapons to Sundan The UAE government has denied sending any weapons to Sudan and claimed that its cargo flights to eastern Chad were only carrying humanitarian supplies for a hospital in the region. But the UN report said the allegations of weapons being sent to Sudan from the UAE are “credible” and have been corroborated by sources in Chad and Darfur. The report also mentions that the UAE flights coincided with a new surge of sophisticated weapons in the RSF arsenal, including multiple-rocket launchers, drones, howitzers and advanced anti-aircraft missiles, all of which were observed in Darfur and had not been used by the RSF before the shipments began.