Sudan's UN Envoy Accuses UAE of Ethnic Cleansing in his Country

At a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Sudan's UN ambassador accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of inciting conflict in Sudan and standing behind systematic ethnic cleansing, a charge the Emirati envoy denied.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been in conflict, with the regular military led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The Sudanese army has long accused Abu Dhabi of supporting the RSF. In April, Sudan requested an emergency Security Council meeting to address these accusations, but the request was not granted.

During a scheduled meeting on Sudan's situation, Sudanese ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed accused the UAE of arming the RSF and called for the Emirates to stop its support, claiming it was the main reason for the ongoing conflict. He urged the council to condemn the UAE's actions.

A resolution passed last week by the council called for all UN member states to refrain from external interference in Sudan and respect an arms embargo. A January report by a council-appointed panel criticized violations of the embargo, implicating several countries, including the UAE, in supplying arms to the RSF.

The Emirati envoy, Mohamed Issa Hamad Mohamed Abushahab, rejected the Sudanese ambassador's claims as "ludicrous" and accused him of using the council to support the army's position, diverting attention from serious violations on the ground.