Matthew Campbell, Foreign Affairs Editor at The Sunday Times, has revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) played a central role in funding and arming Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia through a complex network of intermediaries operating across Libya, Uganda, and Chad.
According to the investigation, the UAE supplied the RSF militia with weapons and ammunition, transforming it into one of the most heavily armed non-state forces in Africa. Evidence shows that mortar shells and other military equipment were shipped from the UAE to Sudan, despite Abu Dhabi’s repeated denials of direct involvement in the conflict.
The report further noted that the financing extended beyond arms supplies to include the gold trade.
The RSF militia smuggles gold bars from mines in Darfur to Dubai to generate funds for purchasing weapons and paying its fighters. This illicit trade, the report adds, has attracted other actors such as Russia’s Wagner Group and has contributed to prolonging the war.
Campbell highlighted the devastating impact of this support on civilians, citing mass displacement, the destruction of cities and markets, looting of humanitarian aid, and rising hunger across Darfur and Kordofan amid a near-total collapse of relief operations.
The report concludes that continued international silence over the UAE’s involvement — and the absence of accountability — have enabled the ongoing atrocities. Civil society organizations and monitoring states are increasingly calling for a formal investigation into arms exports and human rights violations in Sudan.