UAE firmly denies arms shipments amid Sudan conflict
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The UAE's Foreign Ministry communications director claims that the UAE has not supplied arms or ammunition to any of the warring parties in Sudan.
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Civilians recruited by the Sudanese army take part in military training in the Kassinger area of Sudan’s Northern State. (AFP)
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied a recent report that claimed weapons were discovered in aid shipments sent to Sudanese war refugees, asserting that it remains neutral in the conflict.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan between rival Sudanese generals has resulted in significant casualties, and both sides are believed to have support from foreign powers.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry Communications Director, Afra Al Hameli, stated that the UAE has not supplied arms or ammunition to any of the warring parties in Sudan. This statement came in response to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which cited Ugandan officials claiming to have discovered weapons on an Emirati aid flight bound for Sudanese refugees in Chad.
The UAE strongly refuted these claims, emphasizing its commitment to ending the conflict and respecting Sudan's sovereignty.
In response to inquiries from The Wall Street Journal, the government of the UAE stated last Thursday that it supports a peaceful resolution to the situation in Sudan and "seeks to provide all forms of support to alleviate humanitarian suffering." It claimed that it had built a field hospital in the neighboring country of Chad and provided some 2,000 metric tons of humanitarian goods, including food and medical supplies, to those afflicted by the fighting.
It is worth noting that more than four million people have been forced from their homes as a result of the battle between Dagalo's RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the UN estimates that 24 million people now require food and other humanitarian relief. Over 300,000 refugees have crossed into Chad from the RSF stronghold of Darfur. That cargo was designated as humanitarian aid for those refugees in the flight manifest on the 2nd of June.
Since May, several rounds of peace talks took place in Jeddah to no avail as they were repeatedly by ceasefire violations that each side blamed on the other.
Read next: Sudan: A borderless conflict
