How does the United Arab Emirates’ financing of the Rapid Support Forces perpetuate political violence against civilians in Sudan?

Human Rights Research Center
Jul 16
7 min read

July 16, 2025

Introduction

With each passing minute, the situation in Sudan grows more dire. The conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and their allies continues to wreak havoc and terror on the civilian population. As humanitarian aid slows due to the presence of military blockades and a lack of funding, the threat of increased spillover and growing tension in the broader West African region looms over the world.

In February, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development organized a “High-level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan,” aimed at mobilizing regional powers and stabilizing the Sudan conflict. Addressing the Conference, the United Nations’ Secretary General described the two-year-long civil war as a “crisis of staggering scale and brutality” and reminded world leaders that the “external support and flow of weapons must end,” a comment likely targeted at one of the Conference’s primary organizers.

The Trump administration has continually condemned both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces for continued abuses of power and violations of international humanitarian law during the conflict, claiming to support peace talks and an end to the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the persecution of Darfuris in Sudan as a “real genocide” in his nomination hearing. Just this April, the U.S. Department of State condemned the Rapid Support Forces for their mindless and cruel targeting of innocent civilians and humanitarian aid workers during their bombardment of the Abu Shouk refugee camp.

However, these words of condemnation mean little in contrast to the United States’ continual allyship with and investment in the United Arab Emirates, the country that has been funneling resources, weapons, and money into Sudan to keep the RSF afloat since the start of the civil war.

The History of the Rapid Support Forces

The Rapid Support Forces, at face value, are a paramilitary group that just recently capitalized on the chaos of Sudan’s unstable government following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir. However, the fighting roots of General Hemedti, the face of the RSF, go much deeper. Under his leadership, the Janjaweed militia, Arabic for “devils on horseback,” allied with the Sudanese government to successfully squash rebellion in the Darfur region in 2003 and commit brutal genocide against the indigenous Africans in Darfur. Partnering with government forces in a sort of one-two attack strategy, the Janjaweed burned, poisoned, raided, and looted Darfuri villages, murdering over 400,000 innocent people. Hemedti, 20 years ago, cemented his role in one of the most infamous genocide campaigns in human existence.

Now, he seeks to repeat history. In early 2025, the United States government formally accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing genocide in Sudan. The consequences? The paramilitary group, its leaders, and RSF-owned businesses in the United Arab Emirates were formally sanctioned. However, this condemnation of RSF involvement in the UAE ignores how the Emirati government actively seeks it out, despite denying the allegations of funding. The relationship between the UAE and the RSF is neither nonexistent nor parasitic; both sides view it as a partnership.

The linkages between the Rapid Support Forces and the United Arab Emirates indicate Abu Dhabi intends to capitalize on the growing instability in Sudan. Since the beginning of the conflict, Emirati passports, bombs, and military hardware have been coincidentally discovered or intercepted in RSF-controlled Sudan, causing Sudan to accuse their former ally of funding genocide within its borders. The United States deemed these allegations factual after Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Sarah Jacobs confirmed that the UAE government directly transmitted weaponry and military aid to the paramilitary group, contrary to what Abu Dhabi told Washington.

The UAE’s support of the RSF is motivated by a desire to extract raw materials, namely agricultural crops and precious metals, from the prosperous Sudanese land. The current Sudanese government, the primary opposition to the RSF, has rejected multiple agricultural and land agreements with the United Arab Emirates due to exploitative and unfair terms that yield substantial profits for the Emirati government while providing little protection for local workers and landowners. The Rapid Support Forces, thus, signify a new opportunity for Abu Dhabi to solidify its influence and extend its reach further into the region.

The Rapid Support Forces and Humanitarian Disaster

While RSF military advancements may hold promise for economic prosperity and growth in the UAE, the reality is different for many Sudanese people. For the past two years, local communities in Sudan have deteriorated beyond comparison under the threat of constant war and bloodshed.

150,000 people are dead. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Operational Data Portal, the war has forcibly displaced over 12 million. Displacement in this scenario signifies a loss of access to traditional food, hydration, and healthcare mechanisms, as well as a degradation of safety. People in Sudan no longer have access to normalcy, to an ordinary life, not continually on the run.

For those who remain in Sudan, they are faced with complete ruin and disaster. Over 26 million Sudanese people face acute hunger and starvation, and Sudan could soon become the world’s most devastating and widespread hunger crisis in recent memory. Nowhere in Sudan is safe; even the most vulnerable are under siege. Armed groups continue to strike and block off humanitarian aid to the Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps for refugees and internally displaced people (IDP camps), once thought of as safe havens for fleeing civilians and where over a million people currently reside.

Marginalized groups in Sudan suffer the brunt of the RSF and SAF’s civil war. Specifically, Sudanese women and girls are less likely to have access to clean water, emergency healthcare, and food. Sexual violence has spiked rapidly since 2023, and the Rapid Support Forces have continually weaponized rape and sexual assault as a war tactic against Darfuri women. Amnesty International reports that RSF soldiers regularly gang-raped women and young girls in front of their family members, abducted them from their homes, and forced them into sexual slavery. Over 221 children have been raped in Sudan since 2024.

[Image Source: Famine in Sudan | World Food Programme]

The Role of the United States

The role of Washington as a peacemaker in this conflict is limited because of its deep-seated alliance with the United Arab Emirates. The Trump administration, notably, seemed to take a more neutral approach to the Sudanese civil war than the Biden administration. Specifically, the Trump administration had previously refused to expand or comment on the Biden administration’s declaration of RSF-committed genocide in Sudan before later acknowledging genocide in the region in late April. Although Secretary of State Marco Rubio seems to be sympathetic to the plight of many Sudanese, it appears that President Trump's larger foreign policy goals and business interests in the United Arab Emirates have prevented America at large from taking a divisive stand on the issue.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration was criticized for bypassing congressional approval to finance billions of dollars' worth of arms and military equipment to Abu Dhabi. This news comes after the United Nations placed a year-long arms embargo on all weapons traveling in and out of Darfur. The embargo had been extended following notable violations by the UAE, stemming from its financial relationship with the RSF.

By reducing its allies’ complacency and willing involvement in genocide to simply a “thing we don’t like,” the United States has made it clear that it will continue to uphold systems of oppression and systemic murder against its better judgment. Within the past few months, news from Washington has signaled the development of an 80-story Trump tower in the UAE’s capital and $1.4 trillion worth of investments in the Emirati artificial-intelligence sector.

In the end, human lives are not as valuable to the Trump administration as lining the pockets of some of the wealthiest men in the world.

Glossary

Civil war: Organized war between two or more groups within the same state.
Embargo: A government-imposed ban on trade and commercial activity from a specific country, region, or commodity.
Genocide: The deliberate and intentional killing of a specific nation or ethnic group with the intent of destroying that group.
Hemedti: The current head of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.
Humanitarian aid: A form of assistance, often food, money, healthcare, or other support, that aims to save lives and ease suffering during and after crisis.
Internally Displaced People (IDP): Someone who has been forced to flee their home within the borders of their own country.
Investment: An asset purchased with the intention of generating a return and future profit.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: United Nations agency intended to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in resettlement efforts.
Omar al-Bashir: Former President of the Republic of the Sudan who overthrew the elected government in a 1989 military coup.
Rapid Support Forces: A paramilitary group operating in the Republic of the Sudan opposing the current Sudanese government.
Refugee: Someone who has been forced to flee their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution.
Refugee/IDP camps: Temporary settlements established to provide shelter and assistance to refugees and internally displaced people.
Sudanese Armed Forces: The official military forces of the Republic of the Sudan.
United Nations: A global peacemaking and security organization with 193 Member States, founded in 1945.

Sources

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How does the United Arab Emirates’ financing of the Rapid Support Forces perpetuate political violence against civilians in Sudan?

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