Saudi Arabia denounces ‘foreign interference’ in Sudan after RSF attacks
Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its support for the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan, denouncing “criminal attacks” by paramilitaries. Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North and South Kordofan states, which killed dozens of people, including women and children.
In a statement released Saturday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned “foreign interference” by “certain parties” in Sudan, including “the continued influx of illegal weapons, mercenaries and foreign fighters” for the continuation of a nearly three-year-old war.
The press release, however, does not specify the parties.
It comes a day after the Sudanese Doctors Network, a humanitarian group, said an RSF-led drone attack on a vehicle carrying displaced families in North Kordofan killed at least 24 people, including eight children.
The attack follows a series of drone raids on humanitarian aid convoys and fuel trucks across North Kordofanincluding an attack on a World Food Program convoy on Friday that killed at least one person.
Fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese army has intensified across Kordofan in recent months, following the fall of el-Fasher to paramilitaries in October. The nearly three-year conflict has killed around 40,000 people and plunged more than 21 million people, almost half of Sudan’s population, into severe food shortages.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Saturday that RSF’s deadly attacks “are completely unjustifiable and constitute flagrant violations of all humanitarian standards and relevant international agreements.”
The ministry demanded that “RSF immediately put an end to these violations and respect its moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, in accordance with international humanitarian law” and the ceasefire agreement concluded by the warring parties in Jeddah in 2023.
It adds that “some parties” are fueling the conflict by sending weapons and fighters, despite “these parties’ claims that they support a political solution” in Sudan.
This statement comes as the Sudanese government accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming and financing the RSF. Sudan filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice last year, accusing it of “complicity in the genocide” committed by the RSF against the Masalit community in West Darfur state.
The United Arab Emirates has denied the allegations.
Separately, Saudi Arabia also accused the UAE of supporting the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen. The STC, initially part of Yemen’s internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government, launched a major offensive last December in Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces, seeking to establish a separate state.
The offensive led to a split in Yemen’s internationally-backed government and prompted Saudi Arabia to launch deadly raids against the STC.
The United Arab Emirates withdrew its troops from Yemen following the Saudi allegations, saying it supported Saudi Arabia’s security.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were members of the Arab military coalition formed to confront the Houthis, who took full control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2015.
