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Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of complicity in genocide in a filing at the International Court of Justice, putting the spotlight on the oil-rich monarchy’s alleged involvement in a devastating civil war.The UAE has long been accused by Sudan and others of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the regular army for nearly two years — an allegation the Gulf state denies.How is the UAE involved in Sudan, and what ties does it have to the RSF?- Why is Sudan important to the UAE? -One of Africa’s largest countries, Sudan has a wealth of natural resources including vast agricultural lands, gas and gold, of which it is the continent’s third-largest producer.It neighbours Libya, where Abu Dhabi backs the rebel authorities, and has a coastline on the Red Sea — a crucial maritime route for oil shipping.In 2021, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in a coup alongside his deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemeti.Two years later fighting erupted between the two generals, with powers including the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Russia accused of supporting one side or the other.”The primary goal for the UAE in Sudan has been about political influence in a strategically very important country,” said Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security specialist at King’s College London.Emirati state-affiliated companies look at Sudan as a hub for investment in resources, minerals and trade more generally, he said.Sudan researcher Hamid Khalafallah said the desert UAE is interested in natural resources it lacks, including minerals and arable land.From Libya to Somalia, “we see a pattern of the UAE working with paramilitaries” to exploit the continent’s resources, he said.Development group Swissaid estimated in a report last year that in 2022, 66.5 percent of African gold exports to the UAE had been smuggled out.The UAE, a major hub for the gold trade, is the world’s top buyer of the precious metal from Sudan, a sector largely controlled by Daglo.But Federico Donelli, a professor of international relations at Italy’s University of Trieste, said it would be “too simplistic” to say the UAE’s interests were all about gold.Abu Dhabi is also seeking to counter Saudi influence in Sudan and prevent the spread of political Islam, which it sees as a threat to its security, he said.- What links to the RSF? -Gulf ties to Sudan’s military stem from cooperation in Yemen, after Khartoum joined the Saudi-led coalition fighting a civil war there in 2015.Burhan led the Sudanese who fought under the Saudis, while Daglo’s RSF were deployed with soldiers from the UAE, Donelli earlier told the Nordic Africa Institute.Rifts have since emerged between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, traditionally close allies. UAE support for Daglo, though denied by the Emiratis, serves “to challenge Saudi objectives”, Donelli said.The relationship is also ideological, with the RSF willing to contain the Muslim Brotherhood political movement, which is outlawed by the UAE and other Arab states, Krieg said.This sets the RSF apart from the army, which has been linked with remnants of the Islamist regime of former dictator Omar al-Bashir.Both sides have faced claims of war crimes during Sudan’s bitter conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million.But in January, Washington accused the RSF of genocide for targeting ethnic groups with mass killings and gang rapes.Also in January, two US lawmakers said the UAE had broken its promises to stop providing military aid to the RSF.Daglo’s private finances are run from the UAE, Krieg said, adding that he had become “co-dependent” on Abu Dhabi.The RSF has received crucial support from the UAE, including arms deliveries through neighbouring Chad, diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say.The UAE denies the allegations.- Will the case affect the UAE? -Sudan filed its case against the UAE at the ICJ, the top UN court in The Hague, on Thursday, claiming complicity in genocide over Abu Dhabi’s alleged support for the RSF.The UAE dismissed the case as a “publicity stunt” and said it would try to have it thrown out.ICJ rulings are legally binding, but the court has no power to enforce them.Donelli said the case was likely to cause reputational damage to the UAE.”Both internationally and within Africa, there is an increasing perception of the Emirates as a destabilising actor,” he told AFP.But “the financial and political prominence that the UAE has gained over the past decade will likely shield it from any serious repercussions”.burs/th/srm

Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday urged insurgents from ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority to lay down their arms and surrender after the fiercest attacks on the war-torn country’s new rulers yet.The warning came as Syria’s security forces “executed” 162 Alawites on Friday, according to a Syrian war monitor, in a massive operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland triggered by deadly clashes with gunmen loyal to Assad the day before.”You attacked all Syrians and made an unforgivable mistake. The riposte has come, and you have not been able to withstand it,” Sharaa said in a speech broadcast on Telegram by the Syrian presidency. “Lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late.” More than 250 people have been killed since the clashes erupted on Thursday along the country’s western coast, which followed other deadly incidents in the area this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.Restoring security has been one of the most complex tasks for Syria’s new authorities, installed after Islamist-led forces ousted Assad in a lightning offensive in December.In his Friday address, Sharaa, who headed the coalition that forced out Assad, also vowed to keep working towards “monopolising weapons in the hands of the state”.”There will be no more unregulated weapons,” he pledged.Western powers and Syria’s neighbours have emphasised the need for unity in the new Syria, which is seeking funds for reconstructing a nation ravaged by years of war under Assad.- ‘Premeditated’ – The Britain-based Observatory said “five separate massacres” left 162 civilians dead, including women and children, in Syria’s coastal region on Friday.”The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the Ministry of Defence and the Interior,” both under the Islamist-led authorities’ control, the rights group said.The Observatory and activists released footage showing dozens of bodies in civilian clothing piled outside a house, with blood stains nearby and women wailing.Other videos appeared to show men in military garb shooting people at close range.AFP could not independently verify the images.The United Nations envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, decried “very troubling reports of civilian casualties”.He called on all sides to refrain from actions which could “destabilise Syria, and jeopardise a credible and inclusive political transition”.An interior ministry source quoted by official news agency SANA said isolated incidents had occurred on the coast and pledged to put a stop to them.Authorities launched a sweeping security operation after Thursday’s clashes, which the Observatory said left 78 people dead, including gunmen, security force members and civilians.Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said pro-Assad militia fighters carried out “a well-planned and premeditated attack” on government forces’ positions and patrols around the coastal town of Jableh.- Curfews -A curfew was imposed until Saturday in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, heartland of the ousted president’s Alawite religious minority, and authorities on Friday announced a security sweep in the Jableh area, between the two provinces.Officials blamed “sabotage” for a power outage that affected much of Latakia province.A curfew has also been imposed in Syria’s confessionally divided third city Homs.The security operation “targeted remnants of Assad’s militias and those who supported them”, an official cited by SANA said, as he called on civilians to stay in their homes.”All night, we heard the sounds of gunfire and explosions,” said Ali, a farmer living in Jableh, describing the urban battles in his area.”Everyone’s afraid… we are trapped at home and we can’t go out.”- ‘Under attack’ -Earlier in the week, the Observatory reported four civilians killed in a security operation in the Latakia area, where state media had said “militia remnants” supporting Assad killed two security personnel in an ambush.”Both sides feel like they’re under attack, both sides have suffered horrific abuses at the hands of the other side, and both sides are armed,” Syria expert Aron Lund, a fellow at the Century International think tank, told AFP.Forces led by Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, when he fled to Russia with his family.Syria’s new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.During those campaigns, residents and organisations have reported executions and other violations, which the authorities have described as “isolated incidents”.Russia, Assad’s main backer that helped turn the tide of the war in his favour before he was toppled, called on Syrian authorities to “put an end to the bloodshed as soon as possible”.Iran, another major ally of Assad, said it strongly opposes “harming innocent Syrian people from any group and tribe”.Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey have reaffirmed their support for the new authorities, while Jordan condemned “attempts to drive Syria toward anarchy”.The United Arab Emirates also condemned the attacks by armed groups against Syrian security forces. Germany meanwhile urged Syria’s authorities to avoid a “spiral of violence”.The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday readmitted Syria, which was suspended in 2012, early in the civil war under Assad, following the long-time ruler’s toppling.”This decision represents an important step towards Syria’s return to the regional and international communities as a free and just state,” a Syrian foreign ministry statement said.burs-sbk/sco/tc