Leaked documents seen by The Guardian suggest that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is covertly involved in the Sudan war, as reported by the newspaper on Thursday. 

A 41-page report sent to the UN Security Council and seen by the outlet includes images of Emirati passports allegedly linked to soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The UAE has previously denied supplying arms to the RSF, which is besieging El Fasher in a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur. However, the documents imply that Emirati personnel are assisting in the conflict, potentially escalating the 15-month-long civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese military.

Passports were reportedly found in Omdurman, a city near Khartoum that was recently reclaimed by the Sudanese army from the RSF.

Analysts describe this discovery as a "smoking gun" challenging the UAE's denials and raising questions about the knowledge and response of the US and UK regarding the Gulf state's involvement.

Cameron Hudson, a former US government advisor on Sudan, stated that this would compel Washington to acknowledge and respond to the situation. Some experts believe that without the UAE's involvement, the conflict, which spurred a severe humanitarian crisis, might already be resolved.

The leaked document also indicates that the UAE has supplied the RSF with drones modified to drop thermobaric bombs, which are more devastating than conventional explosives.

Photographs of four passports belonging to UAE nationals and two Yemeni passports were included in the report. These passports were reportedly recovered from the wreckage of a vehicle in Omdurman.

No plausible deniability?

The UAE has consistently refuted claims of military support to Sudan's warring parties. However, UN sanction monitors have described these claims as "credible."

Hudson, a former CIA intelligence analyst for Africa, noted that the discovery would make it harder for the UAE to maintain plausible deniability.

The report details military hardware recovered in Sudan, including a quadcopter drone likely supplied by the UAE, which was modified to drop 120mm mortar shells. Images show boxes of armaments marked as being sent by a Serbian arms company to the "UAE Armed Forces, joint logistics command based in Abu Dhabi," containing thermobaric bombs.

The document states that the bombs were found at Sudan’s state broadcast headquarters in Omdurman after the Sudanese military, which has also been accused of numerous war crimes, expelled the RSF from the building.

A spokesperson for Fenix Insight, an organization that analyzes arms for both governmental and non-governmental entities, commented, "We know that these modified mortar bombs come with that UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone) kit. It’s a complete package produced by a single company, and if it was sent to the UAE armed forces, then the attribution is as direct as it gets."

UAE backing RSF paramilitaries

Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since April 2023, with the regular military led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan clashing with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by his former deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).

Sudan's UN ambassador publicly accused the United Arab Emirates of instigating conflict within Sudan during a Security Council meeting in June.

The Sudanese military has reported for months that Abu Dhabi is backing the RSF. In April, Sudan formally requested an urgent Security Council session to address these allegations, yet it was not convened.

During a routine meeting on Sudan's situation on Tuesday, Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed utilized the platform to voice Sudan's concerns.

He said the RSF, "supported with weapons by the Emirates," was "deliberately and systematically targeting the villages and cities."