AU will not accept 'any interference' in Sudan
ADDIS ABABA - The African Union said Monday it would not accept "any interference" in conflict-wracked Sudan after paramilitaries fighting the army were accused of receiving weapons from the United Arab Emirates.
The war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023 has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and sent shudders through east Africa and beyond.
Last week, the Sudanese government severed diplomatic relations with the UAE, accusing it of supplying weapons to the RSF.
Amnesty International has also accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF, in violation of a United Nations arms embargo. Abu Dhabi has rejected the claims as "baseless".
"The Commission's position is that member states are sovereign states, and the AU Commission will not accept any interference in the internal affairs of Sudan," said AU chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
"We will not support any intervention, any interference in the crisis in Sudan," he said.
However, Youssouf declined to comment on the UAE's possible role in the conflict: "it is not the role of the AU, Sudan has accused the Emirates, it is up to Sudan to provide this evidence."
The Djibouti ex-foreign minister was elected head of the pan-African organisation in February, inheriting multiple conflicts and a record of ineffectual statements.
Among the top of his priorities coming into the post was the Sudan civil war, which has effectively cleaved the country in two.
The army mostly controls central, eastern and northern Sudan, while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
In recent days, drone attacks attributed by the army to the RSF have increased, marking a turning point in the two-year conflict.
Drone attacks have notably targeted strategic sites in Port Sudan, the temporary seat of government and the logistical humanitarian epicentre.
In February, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged a halt to the "flow of arms" into Sudan.
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