UAE Thwarts Illicit Weapons Transfer to Sudanese Army Amid Genocide Accusations
The United Arab Emirates has announced the interception of a covert operation aimed at supplying arms to the Sudanese Armed Forces, as tensions rise ahead of a major ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Sudan’s accusations against the Gulf nation.
In a statement released on Wednesday via state news agency WAM, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi revealed that security forces had dismantled a weapons trafficking cell involved in unauthorized arms mediation and smuggling.
The operation was reportedly foiled during an inspection of a private aircraft found to be carrying approximately five million rounds of machine gun ammunition.
According to Emirati authorities, the cell orchestrating the deal included former Sudanese intelligence chief Salah Gosh, an ex-adviser to Sudan’s finance minister, and a political associate of Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Several Sudanese businessmen were also implicated.
The weapons cache—consisting of Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, and heavy ammunition—was allegedly being funneled to the Sudanese military under the guise of a commercial sugar deal.
The transaction was reportedly facilitated by a company controlled by individuals working under Colonel Othman Al-Zubair, who oversees financial operations for the Sudanese army. Investigators said falsified invoices were used to obscure the true nature of the shipment.
Authorities also recovered a portion of the payment, in cash, during hotel room searches linked to the suspects.
The timing of the revelation is significant. It comes just days before the International Court of Justice is scheduled to issue a preliminary decision in a case filed by Sudan’s transitional government accusing the UAE of aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a group embroiled in a brutal civil conflict with the Sudanese army since April 2023. The case alleges Emirati complicity in war crimes and genocide.
Although the UAE has repeatedly denied favoring either side in Sudan’s ongoing war, the Sudanese military has frequently accused the Gulf state of arming the RSF. This latest twist—implicating UAE territory in an alleged scheme to arm the army—adds a complex dimension to the already volatile geopolitical landscape.
The detained political figure, Ahmed Rabie Ahmed Al-Sayed, reportedly close to General Burhan, was said to have issued authorizations and appointed members of the trafficking ring to complete the deal.
No comment has yet been issued by Sudanese military officials regarding the UAE’s announcement.
The incident underscores the deepening international entanglements in Sudan’s devastating conflict, which has killed thousands, displaced millions, and fractured an already fragile state.
