UAE condemns Sudan’s RSF for attack on mosque that killed 70
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has condemned Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for its attack on a mosque during Friday prayers, which killed 70 people, according to The National on September 22nd.
The drone strike occurred in the western city of El-Fasher, which has been under siege by the RSF since May 2024. The city is the capital of North Darfur state and is the final remaining major urban centre in the vast Darfur region, which is still under the control of Sudan’s military, who have been at war with the RSF since April 2023.
The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” in a statement issued on September 21st.
The UAE’s condemnation of the RSF is somewhat unexpected as the Gulf state is seen as the principal backer of Sudan’s notoriously brutal paramilitary group. The UAE has repeatedly been accused of arming the RSF via neighbouring countries such as Chad and war-torn Libya.
In April, the internationally recognised and military-backed Sudanese government brought a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing the UAE of being “complicit in genocide” through its support for the RSF, as reported by the BBC on April 10th. However, the ICJ promptly dismissed the case based on its lack of jurisdiction, according to Al Jazeera on May 5th.
In its condemnation of the RSF attack, the UAE urged both warring factions to adhere to the Jeddah Declaration, a Saudi-American mediated agreement that was launched in May 2023 – just a month after the conflict erupted – to protect civilians from military operations and ensure adequate entry of humanitarian aid.
The Jeddah Declaration has thus far proven futile considering the large-scale, routine, and deliberate killing of civilians by combatants alongside the humanitarian catastrophe Sudan finds itself in.
On August 19th, the Arab Centre Washington DC blamed the Declaration’s abject failure on the warring factions themselves, as “it is clear from the actions of the parties in the war that they prefer military options and influence on the ground rather than political solutions.”
The political will of both the military and the RSF certainly seem to be firmly oriented towards absolute victory while marginalising diplomatic route to implementing a peaceful political settlement.
Military chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan vowed in mid-August that his forces would continue fighting until the RSF is either totally defeated or surrenders, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to securing his vision for Sudan’s future.
The RSF recently appointed its leader, Mohamed Dagalo (known as Hemedti) as the head of a new parallel government designed to rival and undermine the authority of the military-backed administration in Khartoum. The military, according to Hemedti, continues to ally with Islamists loyal to former dictator Omar Al-Bashir’s regime.
The National, Maghrebi.org, BBC, Al Jazeera, Arab Centre Washington DC
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