Sudan’s foreign ministry has declared 15 UAE diplomats persona non grata on Sunday and issued a demand for their departure from Sudan within 48 hours, SUNA news agency reported on Sunday.
The move follows UAE’s expulsion of three Sudanese diplomats on Saturday.
Recent weeks have seen pro-army demonstrators and high-ranking officials loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan accusing the United Arab Emirates of providing support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict between these forces has been ongoing since April 15, resulting in the loss of 12,000 lives and the displacement of seven million people, according to the United Nations.
Despite numerous attempts at ceasefire talks, neither faction has gained a decisive advantage on the battlefield.
World leaders, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and experts have highlighted the involvement of unnamed parties providing “financial and weapons” support to both warring sides, contributing to the prolonged conflict.
In late November, Lt Gen Yasser al-Atta, second-in-command to army chief Burhan, accused the UAE of aiding the RSF in their battle against the army, citing alleged transportation routes through airports in Uganda, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
Tit for Tat?
United Arab Emirates (UAE) declared three Sudanese diplomats persona non grata and demanded their immediate departure from the country within 48 hours on Saturday,
This development came after Lt Gen Yasser al-Atta during a speech at a military headquarters on November 27 referred to the UAE as a “mafia state.”
In response to al-Atta’s remarks, the UAE informed Sudanese Ambassador Abdel Rahman Sharafi that three Sudanese diplomats were unwelcome and needed to depart from UAE territory immediately.
These expulsions marks a notable escalation in the diplomatic relations between the two nations, marking the first instance of diplomats being expelled or summoned in their bilateral history.
