Passports recovered from battlefields in Sudan suggest the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is covertly involved in the country’s devastating civil war, according to leaked documents. A 41-page document, sent to the UN Security Council and seen by the Guardian, contains images of Emirati passports allegedly found in Sudan and linked to soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group.
Evidence Challenges UAE Denials
The UAE has previously denied accusations of supplying arms to the RSF, which is besieging El Fasher in a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur. However, the discovery of these passports indicates a potential escalation, complicating the 15-month-long conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese military.
The passports were reportedly recovered from Omdurman, near Khartoum, in an area formerly held by the RSF but recently reclaimed by the Sudanese army. Analysts describe the discovery as a “smoking gun,” challenging UAE denials and raising questions about what the US and UK know about the Gulf state’s involvement in Sudan. Cameron Hudson, a former Sudan adviser to the US government, said, “This will force Washington to acknowledge what it knows about this and respond.”
Military and Humanitarian Implications
The document also indicates that the UAE has supplied the RSF with drones modified to drop thermobaric bombs, which are more devastating than conventional explosives. The papers include photos of four passports allegedly belonging to UAE nationals, recovered from the wreckage of a vehicle in Omdurman. Two passports belonging to Yemeni nationals were also found at the same location, suggesting possible reciprocal assistance between the RSF and Yemeni fighters.
The UAE dismissed the claims, stating that the individuals in the passport images had traveled to Sudan for humanitarian purposes 11 months before the conflict began in April 2023. A statement from the UAE ambassador to the UN claimed that the passports belonged to a delegation from the UAE-based International Charity Organization.
Despite these denials, UN sanction monitors have described the claims of UAE military support to the RSF as “credible.” Kholood Khair, a Sudanese political analyst, said, “This makes a mockery of the UAE’s insistence it has nothing to do with militarily supporting the RSF.”
Global Repercussions
Hudson, also a former CIA intelligence analyst, noted that the discovery makes it harder for the UAE to distance itself from Sudan, emphasizing that the UAE has previously operated through proxies to maintain plausible deniability. The document also includes details of military hardware, such as a quadcopter drone and thermobaric bombs, allegedly supplied by the UAE.
The UAE ambassador’s statement asserted that the passport images were photocopies, and the implicated individuals retain their passports. The statement emphasized that these allegations are defamatory and contrary to the individuals’ humanitarian efforts in Sudan.
The situation remains tense, with the international community closely monitoring developments in Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
