UAE’s profit-driven role fuels Sudan’s civil war and regional power play

Sudan’s civil war now draws a web of foreign backers, with the United Arab Emirates emerging as the most influential despite lacking a border or refugee concerns. Abu Dhabi channels revenue from RSF-controlled gold mines in Darfur into Dubai, converting it into hard currency that sustains the fighting while giving the UAE leverage over Sudan’s future. Simultaneously, the UAE pursues a continent-wide strategy of port and logistics dominance, investing billions in Sudanese maritime and land infrastructure.

Politically, Sudan serves as a testing ground for Abu Dhabi’s sub-imperial ambitions, allowing it to project influence without formal empire and to counter Islamist movements and Iranian reach. The emirate also fears the spread of democratic uprisings after Sudan’s 2018 revolution, prompting a broader counter-revolutionary stance across the region. Through a network that includes Chad, Ethiopia, Rwanda and other partners, the UAE facilitates weapons transfers, training camps and medical cover for RSF fighters. Western governments have been aware of these activities but have taken limited action, leaving the UAE’s financial and logistical channels largely untouched.