Sudan Events – Agencies
A serious investigation by “The New York Times” has uncovered detailed information about the UAE’s involvement in supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia during the ongoing war in Sudan. The investigation revealed that the UAE’s role includes deploying drones that fly over the vast deserts along the Sudanese border to guide illegal arms smuggling convoys to the RSF, which has been accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing.
According to “The New York Times,” these drones fly over the besieged city of El Fasher to support the militia that has bombed hospitals, looted food shipments, and burned thousands of homes. The investigation states that these drones are launched from a base that the UAE claims is operated as part of a humanitarian effort for the Sudanese people.
The newspaper reported that the UAE is playing a deadly double game in Sudan, aiming to enhance its role as a regional powerbroker while expanding its covert campaign to support the winner in Sudan by funding, arming, and sending drones to the RSF. At the same time, the UAE presents itself as a defender of peace, diplomacy, and international aid, using one of the most recognized humanitarian symbols, the Red Crescent, as a cover for its covert operations to send drones and smuggle arms to the fighters in Sudan.
The investigation also highlighted that the UAE bolsters its secret campaign with powerful Chinese-made drones, the largest deployed in the Sudanese war, launched from a cross-border airport in Chad, which the UAE expanded into a militarily equipped airfield. Satellite images show the construction of hangars and the installation of a drone control station.
U.S. officials stated that the UAE is using this airport to fly advanced military drones that provide intelligence to the RSF and escort arms shipments to the fighters in Sudan, protecting them from ambushes.
Through satellite image analysis, the type of drones used has been identified as “Wing Loong 2,” a Chinese-made drone often compared to the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper. The images also show an ammunition depot at the airport and a drone control station near the runway, 750 yards from a UAE-run hospital treating RSF fighters.
The investigation further reveals that the “Wing Loong” drone can fly for 32 hours, cover distances of up to 1,000 miles, and carry up to 12 missiles or bombs. So far, these drones have not conducted their airstrikes in Sudan but have been used for surveillance and target identification on the battlefield.
The newspaper reported that earlier this year, a private UAE plane transported the RSF leader, Hemedti, on a tour of six African countries.
