The Global Campaign Against The UAE’s War In Sudan

Last November, the RSF militia committed a heinous massacre in Elfashir; thousands were killed in one day, including patients at a hospital, women, and children, who were lined up and shot to death. Satellite images explain that the militia put the victims in a mass burial to hide its crime. This massacre was indeed enabled and sponsored by the UAE. That’s relentless in pursuing its economic and political interests in Sudan, regardless of the suffering it causes.

El-Fashir’s genocide triggered a strong condemnation reaction from many voices around the world, pointing to the UAE’s role in sponsoring the militia and calling for an end to it. This campaign, which is still emerging, is putting pressure on the UAE and raising awareness about its destructive role in the prolongation of the war in Sudan.

The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Forces militia, has been devastating on many levels. Millions were displaced, either internally or to neighboring countries, and thousands were killed. Moreover, there is now credible fear that the country could descend into a grim partition scenario.

The Rapid Support Forces originated mainly from the 2013 reorganization of the infamous Janjaweed militia. They were established to assist government counterinsurgency efforts in Darfur and South Kordofan. The Sudanese parliament formally legitimized its operations through legislation in 2017. Throughout the conflict, the RSF has been responsible for numerous atrocities, including village devastation, protester killings, sexual assaults, mass murders, illegal imprisonments, attacks on medical facilities and religious buildings, aggression toward media personnel and organizations, ethnically motivated violence, and the use of child soldiers.

For an extended period, the United Arab Emirates has provided financial and military backing to the RSF militia, including recently supplying foreign combatants. This assistance has substantially expanded since the conflict began. The UAE maintains significant economic and political stakes in Sudan that it anticipates will be protected if its RSF allies gain control. These interests encompass the exploitation of gold and agricultural assets, control of strategically important Red Sea ports, and blocking the return to power of Islamist groups, which the UAE traditionally opposes politically.

The world reacted strongly to the genocide of El-fashir, cristizing the the UAE. Activists such as Greta Thunberg called for stopping visiting the UAE. A giant billboard in London was installed, highlighting the role of the UAE in Sudan. A campaign was launched to end the NBA partnership with the UAE and to impose cultural and educational boycotts. The student body of the University of Maryland urged the university to cut ties with the UAE, and a Swiss-based watchdog group requested more scrutiny on the gold imported from the UAE that could be fueling the genocide in Sudan. Moreover, politicians such as Sara Jacobs and Jeremy Corbyn called for ending arms sales to the UAE.

Wary of the impact on its image worldwide, the UAE responded by launching a coordinated disinformation operation attacking the sudanese army and shifting the blame, falsely saying the sudanese army engaged in killing christains sudan, this claim was debunked by fact checking organizion, a recent study found that 19000 UAE-aligned bots were promoting after the fall of El-Fashir. Moreover, Sky News, the UAE-based channel, engaged in whitewashing the genocide by downplaying the atrocities committed by the militia.  The UAE also lobbied the US Congress and succeeded in stopping a legislation that aimed block US arms sales to the UAE until it halts its support to the RSF.

There’s a dire need for a unified movement that calls out the UAE and coordinates between these different groups and organizations, which will take the campaign to a different level and make more impact.

Source: https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-global-campaign-against-the-uaes-war-in-sudan/