Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have been providing smuggled fuel to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, a report by US-based watchdog The Sentry said on Thursday.
The war between the army and the RSF paramilitary in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people since it began in April 2023, displacing nearly 12 million and triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Haftar has been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons and fuel to the RSF on behalf of the UAE, allegations he denies.
Abu Dhabi has consistently denied any interference in Sudan.
The Sentry reported that the military strongman “has been a key fuel supplier to the RSF” throughout the war, because of his “deep loyalty to the Emirati government”.
United Nations reports have accused the UAE of providing the RSF with weapons and drones.
Sudan’s army has also accused it of providing weapons as well as mercenaries, including from Colombia, via neighbouring countries.
The UAE has denied these allegations.
The Sentry said Haftar’s “persistent flow of diesel and gasoline has enabled the RSF’s mobility in Darfur and, therefore, its tactical operations there”.
The vast Darfur region in western Sudan, which borders Libya and Chad, fell under full RSF control in late October when the group took the city of El-Fasher, with accusations of mass atrocities following soon after.
Emirati presidential advisor Anwar Gargash has condemned the atrocities in El-Fasher and expressed concern for Sudan’s unity, lambasting last week what he called “fake news” about any involvement by the UAE in Sudan.
Libya is split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and Haftar’s administration in the east.
The North African country has been divided since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
“By supplying fuel and other aid to the RSF amid the Sudanese war, the Haftar family has tightened its command structure and strategic control in southeastern Libya,” the report said.
It said “the UAE’s extensive ideological, diplomatic, financial and political support for the Haftar family since 2014” left the commander’s camp “beholden to Abu Dhabi”.
Haftar’s youngest son, Saddam, who leads the Libyan National Army, had travelled to southeastern Libya’s Kufra in April 2023 “to oversee efforts to secure fuel supplies” to the RSF, the watchdog said.
The report said Haftar’s forces increased “manpower and equipment” in Kufra to ensure “uninterrupted shipments of fuel and other goods across the border” for the RSF.
“Beyond supervising the flow of fuel, Saddam Haftar’s forces also coordinated occasional arms transfers to the RSF in Darfur as part of a broader support policy that included regular deliveries of ammunition,” the report added.
bur-fka/bou/dcp
© Agence France-Presse
