• The UAE-backed RSF militia is waging a nationwide campaign of genocide in Sudan, enabled by a coalition of foreign states including Kenya, Libya, Chad, and UAE-linked networks in Puntland, Somalia.
• The RSF has launched indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Al-Fashir, Khartoum, Al-Gezira, Kordofan, Sinja, and El Geneina, committing war crimes including shelling, starvation, rape, looting, and targeted executions.
• The UAE has armed the RSF with Chinese drones, guided munitions, and logistical support, facilitating deadly drone strikes on cities such as Port Sudan, Kosti, Rabak, and Al-Fashir, and recruiting mercenaries through regional intermediaries.
• Sudanese civil society and rights advocates are calling for sanctions on the UAE and its partners, humanitarian access to besieged regions, and prosecution of the UAE, RSF leaders and foreign enablers for war crimes.
We at Darfur Union in the UK are sounding the alarm on a coalition of evil, a network of foreign states and actors actively fueling and orchestrating the genocidal war in Sudan. Since April 2023, Sudan has been plunged into a brutal conflict led by the UAE backed Rapid Support Forces militia(RSF) militia, who have unleashed a campaign of terror across the entire country. The result has been widespread atrocities: ethnic massacres, mass displacement, starvation, and systematic war crimes. Yet these horrors are not happening in isolation, they are enabled and exacerbated by external governments providing weapons, logistical support, and political cover to the perpetrators. In this report, we expose how specific countries, starting with the UAE, followed by Kenya, Libya, Chad, and others – are complicit in the violence, destruction, and displacement devastating Sudan. We also shine a light on the Sudanese regions suffering the worst of this foreign-fueled warfare: from the genocidal killings in El Geneina, to the siege of Al-Fashir, to massacres in Al-Gezira, Kordofan, Sinja, and Khartoum. We highlight war crimes including forced displacement, shelling, looting, torture, sexual violence, and siege tactics used as tools of extermination.
Together, we, Sudanese activists and defenders of human rights, speak in one voice: these foreign enablers must be held accountable for abetting genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan.
Continued RSF Shelling in Al-Fashir (May 2025)
The UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued their relentless bombardment of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, with deadly consequences for civilians. On 6 and 9 May 2025, RSF artillery targeted residential areas and displacement camps, including the overcrowded Abu Shouk camp, killing at least 16 civilians and injuring dozens more. These attacks are part of a broader, systematic campaign that has resulted in over 540 deaths in North Darfur within just three weeks. The RSF’s siege of Al-Fashir, made possible through sustained military and logistical support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has turned the city into a humanitarian disaster zone.
Eyewitnesses report indiscriminate shelling of homes, hospitals, and shelters. Displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abu Shouk, already overwhelmed by previous violence, have been reduced to scenes of devastation. Over 400,000 people have fled the region since April, while famine conditions, intensified by the UAE-backed RSF’s obstruction of humanitarian aid and destruction of civilian infrastructure, are rapidly spreading.
The UAE’s provision of drones, heavy weaponry, and transport logistics has directly enabled the RSF to maintain its offensive. Without the Emirati airlifts, arms deliveries, and financial networks, the RSF would not possess the capacity to carry out these sustained assaults on population centres.
The United Nations, UNICEF, and international NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have condemned the shelling and the appalling humanitarian toll. Calls for safe humanitarian corridors and international investigations into war crimes have grown louder. Increasingly, international human rights observers and legal experts are naming the UAE as complicit in war crimes and potential acts of genocide, through its continued support of the RSF’s military operations.
Foreign Powers Enabling Genocide in Sudan
United Arab Emirates: Arming the Atrocities
The UAE has provided advanced Chinese-made weaponry, including guided bombs and drones, in violation of the UN arms embargo. Amnesty International has identified the UAE as a key supplier of RSF’s growing arsenal. These weapons have been used in coordinated strikes across Sudan, with drone attacks on Port Sudan, Kosti, Rabak, Al-Fashir, and Khartoum resulting in civilian deaths and critical infrastructure damage.
Kenya: Political Legitimization
Kenya has given political legitimacy to the RSF by hosting their representatives and engaging in bilateral meetings. This undermines regional diplomacy and emboldens the RSF’s campaign of terror.
Libya: A Rear Base of Operations
Under General Khalifa Haftar, Libya has served as a critical rear base, providing RSF with logistics, training, and supply routes. Haftar’s cooperation has allowed RSF fighters to regroup and rearm across borders.
Chad: A Corridor of Complicity
Chad has been a quiet but strategic enabler, permitting airlifts of weapons and supplies through its territory to RSF-controlled regions. RSF’s wounded fighters and reinforcements also pass through Chadian territory, particularly in and around Amdjarass.
Foreign Enablers: UAE Recruitment of Fighters via Puntland (Somalia)
Among the most troubling developments in the foreign support network backing the RSF is the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) reported recruitment of mercenaries from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia. Investigations and leaked diplomatic correspondence indicate that the UAE has played a central role in recruiting, financing, and deploying foreign fighters, including Colombians and Somalis, to reinforce the RSF’s campaign across Sudan.
According to recent reports, Bosaso airport in Puntland has served as a covert transit hub for RSF-linked operations. Fighters have been transported from there, with some reportedly misled about the nature of their assignments. The Sudanese government has officially accused Puntland authorities of providing “logistical and strategic facilitation” to the RSF via this channel, with the UAE acting as the primary coordinator and financier.
While Puntland officials deny direct involvement, the Sudanese foreign ministry lodged a formal complaint with the Somali federal government, pointing to UAE-linked aircraft and shipments landing in Bosaso and continuing to RSF-controlled territory. This route appears to complement existing air corridors through Libya and Chad, further strengthening the RSF’s operational reach.
This revelation adds to growing evidence that the UAE is not merely supplying weapons and drones to the RSF, but is actively enabling a transnational military effort — outsourcing combat manpower through private networks and foreign intermediaries. Analysts warn that this level of external intervention is exacerbating the conflict, prolonging civilian suffering, and eroding regional stability. The UAE’s recruitment of mercenaries, particularly from conflict-affected regions like Puntland, underscores the reckless nature of its involvement in Sudan’s war.
Regional Atrocities
• El Geneina: Site of targeted ethnic killings against the Massalit community, including house-to-house executions.
• Al-Fashir: Subjected to relentless drone and artillery bombardments, including direct strikes on hospitals and IDP camps.
• Khartoum & Omdurman: Once major cities, now scenes of looting, torture, and infrastructure decimation.
• Al-Gezira State: Brutal massacres as RSF expanded southward. Civilians in Wad Madani and surrounding villages suffered large-scale killings.
• Kordofan: Executions and ethnic cleansing campaigns in Al-Nahud and beyond.
• Sinja ( and Sennar): Recent waves of RSF assaults include home burnings, rape, and public executions.
These regional atrocities, enabled by foreign support, have devastated Sudan’s civilian population. Together, they reveal a deliberate and transnational campaign of extermination.
Drone Warfare: A New Phase of Terror Backed by the UAE
Since 2024, the RSF has escalated its warfare through the use of armed drones, marking a dangerous new phase in the conflict. Amnesty International has confirmed that the UAE supplied RSF fighters with Chinese made armed drones, in addition to guided munitions and artillery, all in violation of the UN arms embargo.
These drones have been used not only in traditional military confrontations but increasingly to target civilian populations and critical infrastructure. In Al-Fashir, drones launched from RSF bases have struck residential neighborhoods, hospitals such as Al-Thawra, and displacement camps like Zamzam. Witnesses describe attacks that appear designed to terrorize and depopulate these areas. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, dozens of civilians have been killed by such aerial assaults.
In May 2025, the RSF conducted a coordinated drone assault on Port Sudan, damaging airport infrastructure, a fuel depot, and surrounding civilian neighbourhoods. Sudanese authorities reported downing over 15 drones in a single night. White Nile State cities like Kosti and Rabak were also hit, particularly energy and water supply facilities. In Khartoum and Omdurman, drones have struck military installations and residential areas alike, killing non-combatants and destroying homes.
The RSF’s use of drones has expanded the geographic range and lethality of the conflict, turning distant civilian zones into war zones overnight. These UAVs have been traced to supply chains involving the UAE and Wagner Group logistics hubs in Libya and CAR. Without this foreign facilitation, the RSF would not have been capable of such strategic, far-reaching strikes.
These drone strikes represent clear violations of international humanitarian law. Deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians or civilian objects, including infrastructure vital to survival, may constitute war crimes. The international community must not ignore this dangerous evolution in the RSF’s tactics.
Conclusion: Dismantle the Coalition of Evil
This war is not a domestic matter. It is a regional and international project of destabilisation and ethnic cleansing. The UAE, Kenya, Libya, Chad, and others have enabled the RSF to turn Sudan into a graveyard. We demand:
• A UN-imposed arms embargo on all parties supplying the RSF
• Sanctions against the UAE and other identified enablers
• Humanitarian access to all regions
• International prosecution of RSF leaders and foreign accomplices
The war in Sudan is not just a power struggle, it is a war against civilians, aided by a coalition of foreign states. Justice and peace depend on stopping the arms, the money, and the impunity. The world must act now.
We at Darfur Union in the UK will not stop raising our voices until the people of Sudan are free from this nightmare and those responsible are brought to justice.
Darfur Union in the UK
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References
1. Amnesty International – “Sudan: Advanced Chinese weaponry provided by UAE identified in breach of arms embargo,” May 2025.
2. Human Rights Watch – “Sudan: Abusive Warring Parties Acquire New Weapons,” September 2024.
3. Reuters – “Sudan’s RSF operating drones from Darfur base, pictures show,” February 2025.
4. AFP/The Defense Post – “Sudan cuts ties with UAE after paramilitary drone strikes on Port Sudan,” May 2025.
5. Al Jazeera – “At least 11 killed in suspected RSF drone attack on Sudan displacement camp,” April 2025.
6. MSF – “Civilian Casualties Mount in El Fasher Amid RSF Shelling,” April 2025.
7. Africa Defense Forum – “Drones Supplied by Iran and UAE Threaten to Prolong the Conflict in Sudan,” July 2024.
8. UN Secretary-General Press Briefing – “Condemning Drone Attacks on Port Sudan,” May 2025.
9. Sudan Tribune – “RSF Drones Hit White Nile Energy Infrastructure,” February 2025.
10. First Despatch – “32 Civilians Killed in RSF Drone and Artillery Attack on El Fasher,” April 2025.