Sudan cuts diplomatic ties with United Arab Emirates

Sudan's army-aligned government on Tuesday severed diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, declaring the Gulf country an "aggressor state", the Sudanese defence minister said.

In a televised speech, Yassin Ibrahim said Sudan was "severing diplomatic relations with the UAE", withdrawing its ambassador and shutting its embassy and consulate in the Gulf country.

He accused the country of violating Sudan's sovereignty through its "proxy", the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the army since April 2023.

"The entire world has witnessed, for more than two years, the crime of aggression against Sudan's sovereignty, territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens by the UAE, acting through its local proxy, the terrorist RSF militia," the minister said.

Drone attack on Port Sudan

Sudan's army-aligned government has repeatedly accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons – claims that Abu Dhabi has denied.

The Sudanese government's decision comes hours after drones struck Port Sudan – the country's de facto capital which until recently had been spared the violence – for the third consecutive day.

Ibrahim said the UAE escalated its involvement by supplying the RSF with "strategic advanced weapons" after battlefield victories by the army, which in March reclaimed control over the capital Khartoum.

He added that Sudan would "respond to the aggression by all means necessary to preserve the country's sovereignty" and "protect civilians."

Deadly war

The war in Sudan has killed thousands, displaced 13 million and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.

The conflict has effectively divided the country in two, with the army controlling the north, east and centre while the RSF dominates nearly all of the western Darfur region and parts of the south.