2 years of Sudan war: UAE calls for peace, end to 'humanitarian catastrophe'
The UAE has made an urgent call for peace as the war in Sudan spills into a third year.
Lana Nusseibeh, UAE's Assistant Minister for Political Affairs, said in a statement that the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan is among the world's most severe: over 30 million people are in need of urgent assistance, famine is spreading, and aid is being deliberately blocked.
"Atrocities continue to be committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The SAF's continued offensives — marked by starvation tactics, indiscriminate bombardment of populated areas, reprisals against civilians, including emergency response room workers, and the reported use of chemical weapons — have inflicted unimaginable suffering on a civilian population already on the brink of collapse," Nusseibeh said.
The UAE has condemned these atrocities unequivocally and calls for accountability. "The UAE also strongly condemns recent attacks on civilians in Darfur, including the brutal assaults on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps near El Fasher, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries. All parties to the conflict must halt the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers and the indiscriminate shelling of schools, markets, and hospitals," the statement said.
The UAE also called for immediate action on three fronts.
A ceasefire and political process
The guns must fall silent. The UAE urges both the SAF and RSF to agree to an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire and come to the negotiating table in good faith. There can be no military solution—only a political one that reflects the will of the Sudanese people.
Unhindered humanitarian access
The obstruction of aid is unconscionable and the weaponisation of humanitarian aid and food supplies is a condemned act. Both parties must allow immediate, safe, and urgent access for humanitarian organisations to reach those in desperate need across Sudan. The UAE calls on the UN to prevent warring parties from using humanitarian aid for military or political purposes. The lives of millions of civilians depend on it.
International pressure
The international community must act urgently to facilitate a political process, increase humanitarian assistance, and exert coordinated pressure on all actors fuelling the conflict. We call for a transition to a civilian-led and independent government — the only form of leadership that can legitimately represent the people of Sudan and lay the foundation for lasting peace. The world cannot allow Sudan to spiral further into chaos, extremism, and fragmentation, the statement said.
The statement further added: "Since the outbreak of the conflict, the UAE has provided more than $600 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries —including through UN agencies, impartially, based on need and without discrimination. We remain committed to supporting the Sudanese people and to working with international partners to alleviate the suffering and push for peace.
"The time for action is now. The killing must stop. Sudan's future must be built on peace, justice, and civilian leadership, independent from military control — not on the ambitions of those who seek to prolong war at the expense of their own people."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
US group distributing aid in Gaza reopens sites
A US and Israeli-backed organisation distributing aid in Gaza said on Thursday it was reopening two distribution sites a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations. The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said only two sites in southern Gaza's Rafah area would operate on Thursday, after all sites were closed the day before for maintenance. GHF had opened three sites earlier in the week, and one of Thursday's sites was in a new location, it said. The GHF, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations including the United Nations for alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave. Meanwhile, Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Fifty-six hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive. The Israeli military has intensified operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the Islamist militant group. At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital in the enclave's north, local health authorities said. The military said that it had targeted an Islamic Jihad militant who was operating a command-and-control centre. The Hamas-run government media office says that 225 journalists in Gaza have been killed since the war began. The renewed military campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a US veto blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF launched a new aid distribution system that bypasses traditional relief agencies. SERIES OF SHOOTINGS The GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days this week. What exactly occurred remains unclear, but the Israeli military said its soldiers fired warning shots in each incident. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident. The American organisation, which uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid to its distribution points inside Gaza from where it is collected, has said that it has so far distributed at least 7 million meals. The UN and international humanitarian groups refuse to work with the GHF because they say aid distribution is essentially controlled by Israel's military and forces the displacement of Palestinians by limiting distribution points to a few venues in central and southern Gaza. Navigating the Gaza Strip is dangerous, with unexploded rockets and shells making it hard for many to reach aid handout sites. For Palestinians in north Gaza, cut off from distribution points in the south, even that remains out of reach. Footage released by the GHF this week showed hundreds of Palestinians crowding its site in Rafah, collecting aid from piles of stacked boxes without any clear system of distribution. AID DISTRIBUTION Israeli opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman accused the government on Thursday of arming Palestinians in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said later in a statement that Israel was acting "in various ways" on the recommendation of the security establishment. Netanyahu's office did not deny Lieberman's accusation. Israeli media reported that Israel had transferred weapons to Yasser Abu Shabab, a leader of a large clan in the Rafah area, now under full Israeli army control. Abu Shabab previously said that he was building up a force to secure aid deliveries into some parts of Gaza. Hamas security officials told Reuters Abu Shabab was wanted for "collaborating with the occupation against his people". They said Hamas forces had killed at least two dozen of his men before January in what they said were clashes with looters of aid trucks. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. On Wednesday, a Palestinian transport company contracted by UN agencies suspended operations indefinitely after an armed gang intercepted its aid trucks in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, killing one driver and injuring another. Israel and the US are urging the UN and governments to work through the GHF. But it is unclear who is funding the group, which this week named an evangelical Christian with ties to US President Donald Trump as its executive chairman.
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
UAE condemns attack on aid convoy in North Darfur
The attack on the joint UNICEF and World Food Programme (WFP) convoy on Tuesday disrupted the delivery of critical food supplies to starving families. In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) denounced "all acts of violence targeting humanitarian personnel who risk their lives to serve vulnerable populations" and emphasised that it is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The UAE called on the warring parties in Sudan to fulfill their obligations under international law, adhere to the commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration, and engage with what was proposed by the Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group. The ministry stressed the urgent need for concrete measures to protect civilians and ensure rapid, unhindered access to humanitarian aid through all available channels. Reaffirming its steadfast support for a peaceful resolution to the Sudanese conflict, the UAE underscored the importance of an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilians. The statement also reiterated the UAE's commitment to working with regional and international partners to bring stability and peace to Sudan. Aid has frequently come under crossfire in the two-year-old war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes. The attack is the latest of several assaults on aid in recent days. It follows the repeated shelling of UN World Food Programme premises in al-Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and an attack on El Obeid hospital in North Kordofan that killed several medics late last month.
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
American group distributing aid in Gaza delays reopening sites
A private company distributing aid in Gaza, backed by the US and Israel, had yet to reopen its distribution sites in the enclave by mid-morning on Thursday, a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations. The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said its sites would not open at their usual time due to maintenance and repair work. It did not say when aid distribution would resume. A Palestinian father of four in Gaza's Khan Younis, who asked not to be identified over safety concerns, told Reuters the GHF site near Rafah in southern Gaza had not reopened by mid-morning. GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The group, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, began distributing aid last week. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave. The Israeli military has intensified its operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the group. At least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital strike in the enclave's north, local health authorities said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment The renewed campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a US veto blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF launched an aid distribution system that bypasses traditional agencies. SERIES OF SHOOTINGS The GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days this week. The exact details of what occurred remain unclear, but the Israeli military said its soldiers fired warning shots in each incident. GHF has said that aid was safely distributed from its sites without any incident. The American organisation, which uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid to its distribution sites inside Gaza from where it is collected, has said that it has so far distributed at least 7 million meals. The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and forces the displacement of Palestinians. The GHF has so far established aid sites in southern and central Gaza but not in the north. Navigating the territory is dangerous, with unexploded rockets and shells making it difficult for many to reach the aid distribution sites. For Palestinians in northern Gaza, cut off from the distribution points in the south, even that remains out of reach.
