Tensions are rising between the Sudanese army led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan And between the United Arab Emirates, which he accuses of supporting his opponent, the team Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo Which he has been fighting for 8 months, with the expulsion of diplomats and accusations directed at Abu Dhabi of being a “mafia state.”
The escalation began with fiery statements by Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, in which he accused the UAE of being a “mafia state” that had taken the “path of evil” by supporting the Rapid Support Forces led by Lieutenant General Dagalo.
In an enthusiastic speech to his soldiers on November 28, Lieutenant General Yasser also accused the UAE of sending weapons to the Rapid Support Forces through Uganda and Central Africa, “with the help of Wagner,” a group of Russian mercenaries that was at one time deployed strongly. In Bangui.
He added, “After Wagner weakened, their planes began passing through Chad. A week ago, those planes landed at N’Djamena Airport,” pointing the finger – also – at Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman in eastern Libya.
Since the outbreak of war, numerous reports and experts have spoken about such channels. The Emirati authorities did not respond to Agence France-Presse’s request to comment on these accusations.
Last August, the American Wall Street Journal quoted Ugandan officials as saying that they found weapons on a cargo plane that was supposed to transport UAE humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad.
turning point
Jalal Harchaoui, an expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, says, “Until recently, General Al-Burhan was cautious and diplomatic, and avoided any direct verbal confrontation with major actors, such as Haftar, Russia, and Abu Dhabi.”
But the statements of Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta were a turning point.
Alex de Waal, one of the leading experts specializing in Sudanese affairs, confirms that the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was supporting Lieutenant General Dagalo. Because he “sent soldiers from his forces to participate in the Emirati-Saudi war in Yemen.”
He continues, “Dagalo also benefits from the gold trade, which also benefits the Emirates.” According to Washington, this trade allowed part of Wagner’s operations to be financed.
“Secret Networks”
As for the analyst Andreas Craig, he says, “The history of the UAE and Sudan is the history of networks that Abu Dhabi wove to achieve strategic goals, but it kept those networks secret, and was keen to be able to deny” any links to them.
Therefore, as Jalal explains to Agence France-Presse, the few accusations leveled against the UAE of interference in Sudan remained “half-hearted” despite “significant support from eastern Libya and from Russia and the UAE” for the RSF.
Last August, the UAE firmly denied the information published by the Wall Street Journal. However, Sudanese demonstrators returned and attacked the UAE last November.
Following this, the UAE expelled Sudanese diplomats, according to Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Siddiq, who is loyal to the army.
Ali Siddiq said in statements to Sudanese state television, “We did not ask for clarifications from the UAE despite the availability of information to us about their involvement in the war.” He continued, “But they expelled our diplomats, so we were forced to respond.”
Impasse
Last December 10, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked 15 Emirati diplomats to leave the country within “48 hours,” after it considered them undesirable persons.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta’s statements came because matters with the UAE had reached a dead end.
Jalal Harchaoui believes that the behavior of the Sudanese army is a “desperate act” by a force that has “narrowing options,” especially on the military level before the Rapid Support Forces, which control Khartoum and the majority of the Darfur region, in addition to other areas where its influence is gradually expanding.
He believes that the army is seeking to “obtain convictions for illegal UAE arms supplies to the Rapid Support Forces.”
