- by Maximus M
- The Guardian
- Issue #2158
Photo: United Nations Photo – flickr.com (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The civil war in Sudan continues to spiral into severe crisis. 24.6 million people in Sudan face acute hunger. 13 million people are displaced. However it’s to the advantage of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose capital city, Abu Dhabi is built off the blood and exploitation of the Sudan.
The origins of the Sudanese Civil War can be traced back to 2019 when the former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, was overthrown in a coup ending his nearly three-decade rule. The coup resulted in a short-lived joint military-civilian government that then was overthrown in another coup in October 2021. That coup was spearheaded by two main factions the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). There were strong disagreements between the two factions on what direction the country was heading. This tension and disagreement led to violent break-up between the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF, leading to the Sudanese Civil War in April 2023.
The UAE is playing a crucial role in Sudanese politics that dates back to the 1970s. The UAE has huge investments in both agricultural, and gold reserves within Sudan while controlling important infrastructure hubs and ports.
The UAE’s largest monopolies have invested heavily in agriculture owning more than 50,000 farmable hectares and additional 162,000 hectares of cultivated land. Leading up to the Sudanese Civil War, the Emirates have attempted multiple times to close agriculutral agreements, all of which were rejected by the Sudanese government due to unfair terms. Meanwhile the UAE has played a key role in the Sudanese gold industry ever since the 2010s, importing $3.5 billion (AUD) worth in 2022 alone. However since the Civil War, the UAE has been able to smuggle vast amounts of gold through neighbouring countries with the help of its ally, the RSF. This has resulted in a massive extraction of gold, with an estimated $20.5 billion being smuggled out the country.
The RSF – known for a lack of regard for human rights – has been quick to become an important ally and proxy for the UAE. The RSF has been willing to do the bidding of Abu Dhabi when it comes to extracting agriculture lands and expanding gold smuggling.
The RSF is being pushed back by the Sudanese Armed Forces with a recent defeat in the capital city of Khartoum. It has retreated into the gold-rich Darfur region and surrounding western areas of the country, hoping to create a stronghold within the region, in order to continue gold smuggling to the UAE.
The brutal exploitation of the Sudanese population is devastating, with both sides of the conflict accused of war crimes throughout the civil war. The Rapid Support Forces has been the worst offender, and is currently causing mass starvation among civilians in the besieged city of al-Fashir. The RSF are attacking refugee camps and hospitals, particularly within the Darfur region, and targeting non-Muslim communities, mirroring the Darfur genocide of the early 2000s. The war has resulted in 8.1 million people facing phase 4 (emergency) while already 638,000 people are facing phase 5 (catastrophic) levels of famine.
All of this couldn’t be done without the backing of a foreign power such as the United Arab Emirates. They have provided weapons and other forms of support, including, apparently, funding Colombian mercenaries, and profiting from arms supplies as well as gold and agriculture.
