UAE rejects ‘baseless allegations' made by Sudan at UN

Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been mired in year-long civil war

Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting. AP

The UAE has rejected “baseless allegations” made by Sudan’s ambassador to the UN, who accused the Emirates of fuelling the civil war in his country.

Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE had submitted a letter to the UN Security Council in which it stressed the spread of disinformation and false narratives aims to deflect responsibility and undermine international efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Wam reported.

The UAE said it remains committed to engaging with all stakeholders to support any process that aims to set Sudan on a political path to a lasting settlement and the formation of a civilian-led government.

Last week, Sudan's UN ambassador said the war “wouldn't have begun without the support of the UAE”, accusing the country of providing military, logistical and political support to the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary.

“The UAE sponsored the aggression, sponsored the war,” Al Harith Idriss Al Harith Mohamed said.

In the letter sent to the UN Security Council, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN Mohamed Abushahab said his country “unequivocally rejects the baseless allegations” made by the Sudanese representative.

The accusations “run counter to the long-standing brotherly relations between our two countries and regrettably appear to be nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from the conflict and the dire humanitarian situation caused by the ongoing fighting”, the letter added.

Sudan's bloody civil war began last April when a power struggle between two rival generals devolved into open conflict.

The war has pitted the Sudanese armed forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, against the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

The UN estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 people have been killed, with about eight million displaced.

A UN report published in February accused both sides of committing horrific abuse, including using “explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as missiles fired from fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons and artillery shells in densely populated areas”.

International efforts led by the US and Saudi Arabia to broker a truce have failed and the two sides have refused to return to the negotiating table.

The UAE has called for dialogue between the two factions.

“Since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, the United Arab Emirates has consistently expressed its firm belief that there can be no military solution to the conflict," Mr Abushahab said in the letter.

“We are therefore deeply concerned that the parties to the conflict have not heeded the repeated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and efforts to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue.”