UAE court hands life sentences to eight over arms trafficking to Sudan's army
Eight people were convicted of supplying weapons and laundering money for Sudan's army, as tensions persist between Abu Dhabi and Khartoum over Sudan's civil war.
At a glance
- A UAE court sentenced eight people to life in prison for arms trafficking and money laundering linked to Sudan's army.
- State media said the group forged documents and used UAE companies and bank accounts to conceal the funds' origins.
- Sudan's army accuses the UAE of arming the RSF, which the UAE denies. The war has displaced over 14 million people.
A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced eight people to life imprisonment over arms trafficking and money laundering connected to supplies for the Sudanese army, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal concluded that day that the convicted individuals had taken part in a coordinated scheme to illicitly traffic weapons, ammunition and military equipment, according to WAM.
State media said the accused also forged documents, using companies and bank accounts in the UAE to move funds tied to the arms deals and to hide where the money came from and where it was going.
The court ordered the confiscation of ammunition and communications devices used in the crimes, and ruled that those convicted be deported from the UAE after serving their sentences. "Arms deals, money laundering endangered UAE interests," the court order said, WAM reported.
Tensions between Abu Dhabi and Khartoum
The case comes amid deteriorating relations between the UAE and Sudan. Sudan's military has accused Abu Dhabi of supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group it has been fighting since April 2023. The UAE has denied the allegation.
The war has displaced more than 14 million people and produced severe poverty and food shortages.
Violence in Darfur
This week, more than 100 people — mostly women and children — were killed when military drones hit a busy city market frequented by RSF fighters in Nyala, in Sudan's western Darfur region.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said a second attack struck a civilian neighbourhood. MSF said a hospital it supports in Nyala received 36 bodies in the hours after that attack, 21 of them wearing civilian clothing, and that its teams treated more than 150 wounded people in the emergency room.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously accused the RSF of carrying out war crimes and a possible crime against humanity during its takeover of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after forcing Sudan's army to withdraw from its last stronghold in the Darfur region.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why did a UAE court sentence eight people to life imprisonment?
- They were convicted of trafficking weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Sudan's army and of money laundering using forged documents, companies and bank accounts in the UAE, state media reported.
- What is the state of relations between the UAE and Sudan?
- Ties have deteriorated. Sudan's military has accused Abu Dhabi of supplying arms to the RSF paramilitary group, an allegation the UAE denies.
- What happened in Nyala, Darfur, this week?
- More than 100 people, mostly women and children, were killed when military drones hit a market frequented by RSF fighters in Nyala. MSF said a second attack hit a civilian area.
