Mideast: Libya, A Central Hub in the UAE’s Support Network for Sudan’s RSF
Sudan’s western Darfur region is “an absolute horror show,” United Nations Aid Chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Wednesday, describing the situation in and around El Fasher after the town fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in late October; aid groups report hundreds of civilians killed by the RSF and thousands more missing.
Over two years since the war in Sudan between the RSF and the Sudanese army began, the humanitarian situation in the country continues to deteriorate as both warring parties have been accused of committing atrocities possibly amounting to war crimes.
To date, more than 150,000 people have been killed, while another 12 million have been displaced, making the conflict in Sudan one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The United States claims that the RSF is committing genocide, as the group notably targets communities of East and Central African origin, carrying out mass killings and rapes.
The UAE’s crucial support to the RSF
As the international community sounds the alarm bell regarding the humanitarian situation in Sudan’s Darfur region, calls to sanction countries supporting the warring parties are growing.
The United States has carried out intelligence assessments over several months to find that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been providing support to the RSF, supplying the paramilitary group with both weapons and fuel.
While the UAE denies providing these resources, international reports have repeatedly pointed to alleged logistical support and arms shipments provided to the RSF by the UAE.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Türkiye are supporting the Sudanese military, with talks of setting up an Egypt-Sudan joint task force to deter the RSF underway.
While the Emirati backing of the RSF may seem surprising due to the country’s close alliance with both Egypt and the United States, the UAE first started backing the RSF in order to prevent the Islamist groups underpinning the Sudanese military from seizing power, a strategy the UAE has been pursuing in multiple countries since the Arab Spring.
Libya’s critical role
In June 2025, the RSF seized control of the strategic Sudan-Libya-Egypt border, a key area serving both as a smuggling and trade nexus in the region.
While these terrain gains have served to consolidate the RSF’s influence over the region, access to the porous border notably allows for access to a safe passage for the paramilitary group to resupply weapons and fuel.
U.S. watchdog organization The Sentry accused the UAE in a new November 2025 report of supplying fuel to the RSF through that crucial border, aided by Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces.
While the UN-recognized Libyan government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah are in control of the West of the country, Haftar forces control the east of the country and have have been a “key supplier to the RSF” since the beginning of the conflict in 2023, according to the report.
The Sentry alleges that the “transfer of fuel to the RSF reflects Haftar’s deep loyalty to the Emirati government, a crucial backer of the paramilitary force.”
Indeed, between 2014 and 2019, the UAE was a crucial supporter of the Haftar family, remaining to this day a vital ally of the family, notably providing them with a banking platform for illicit financial flows, and political and diplomatic support.
While Haftar’s forces deny any involvement with the RSF, the Sentry claims that Saddam Haftar, son of Khalifa Haftar, traveled to Libya’s Kufrah district, a known hub for illegal activity, to oversee efforts to secure fuel supplies for the RSF.
The report also alleges that Saddam Haftar’s forces occasionally coordinate arms transfers to the RSF in Darfur, with two U.S. intelligence reports finding that UAE’s provision of weapons to the RSF has been increasing from late summer into early fall.
Calls To End Weapon Sell to RSF-Backers
On November 12, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called for international actions to be taken to stop the flow of weapons to the RSF.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council issued its first sanctions in the current war in Sudan earlier this November, sanctioning two RSF generals for destabilizing the country through human rights violations and violence.
Additionally, the UN Security Council also imposed an international travel ban and asset freeze on West Darfur Commander Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla and RSF’s head of operations, Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, following a proposal brought forward by the U.S. late August 2025.
Around the world, calls to end weapon sales to the RSF backers, including the UAE, are growing, as European weapons are believed to be fueling war crimes across Sudan.
Rights groups have called for both the European Union and the United States to halt weapon sales to the UAE, a key ally to both Western regions.