Sudan’s army-backed government accused Kenya Tuesday of funnelling weapons from the United Arab Emirates to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the regular army since April 2023.
The army last month “uncovered Kenyan-labelled arms and ammunition in the terrorist RSF militia’s weapon caches in Khartoum,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The army and RSF have traded accusations for months of receiving arms from foreign powers, including the UAE, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Russia.
“Kenya has been one of the main conduits of the Emirati military supplies to the terrorist RSF militia,” the foreign ministry charged.
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The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed tens of thousands and uprooted more than 13 million.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has repeatedly warned “outside powers are fuelling the fire” and called for an end to foreign arms deliveries to the warring parties, without naming specific countries.
The UAE has been repeatedly accused of arming the RSF through neighbouring Chad and Libya.
The army-backed government has long been able to count on the support of Egypt but it has also drawn closer to Turkey, Iran and Russia since the war began.
It severed ties with the UAE in March, declaring it an “aggressor state” and accusing it of using the RSF as a “proxy” to attack Sudan.
Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied the accusations, despite numerous reports from UN experts, US lawmakers and international organisations.
The army-backed government has long been angered by Kenya’s readiness to host RSF leaders and has imposed a ban on imports from the East African country.
In late February, the RSF and its allies signed a charter in the Kenyan capital to establish a rival government.
The foreign ministry statement claimed Kenya “admitted” last week that the UAE is supporting the RSF “to seize Sudan’s natural resources and to establish a foothold on the Red Sea”.
In a now-deleted post on X, Kenyan government spokesman Isaac Mwaura had on June 16 written that “Egypt and Iran back (the Sudanese Armed Forces); the UAE backs RSF.”
On the ground, fierce fighting has continued between the army and the RSF.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adghanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that “another appalling attack” on Sudan’s decimated health sector had claimed over 40 civilian lives in West Kordofan state.
According to the Emergency Lawyers, a volunteer war monitoring group, an army drone strike hit Al-Mujlad Hospital, over 800 kilometres (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, on Saturday.
