Reports
UAE’s Secret Arms Supply to Sudan Militias via Chad Exposed in UN Report Ahead of Critical Peace Talks
The UN expert report reveals the UAE's involvement in secretly supplying weapons to Sudanese militias, raising new questions ahead of key peace talks in London.
Watan-A United Nations expert report confirmed the UAE’s involvement in secretly supplying armed militias in Sudan with weapons via neighboring Chad, which increases pressure on Abu Dhabi ahead of its participation in a key conference in London aimed at stopping the war in Sudan.
The internal report—classified as highly confidential—revealed evidence of “multiple” flights from the UAE, with cargo planes seemingly making deliberate attempts to avoid detection while flying to bases in Chad, where arms smuggling into Sudan is monitored.
This report coincides with the second anniversary of the Sudanese civil war, which has led to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and displaced more than 12 million people.
UN Report Highlights UAE’s Role in Arms Flights to Sudan via Chad, Raises Concerns Over Covert Operations
The 14-page report—completed in November and sent to the UN Security Council’s Sudan Sanctions Committee—was prepared by a panel of five UN experts. It documented a consistent pattern of Il-76TD cargo flights from the UAE to Chad, where at least three land routes were identified for transporting weapons into neighboring Sudan.
The researchers found that air cargo flights from UAE airports to Chad were so regular they created a “new regional air bridge.”
The flights displayed unusual characteristics, often disappearing during “critical parts” of their journey, a pattern the experts said “raises questions about potential covert operations.”
However, the experts added they could not confirm what the planes were carrying or provide any evidence that the planes were transporting weapons.
The final report by the UN experts on Sudan, which is set to be released soon, does not mention the findings of multiple cargo flights from the UAE to Chad. The UAE is only mentioned in relation to peace talks in the 39-page expert report.
Questions about the alleged role of the UAE in supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, arose after a weekend in which RSF fighters killed more than 200 civilians in a wave of violence targeting vulnerable ethnic groups in displacement camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last major city still under the control of Sudan’s military in Darfur, the vast western region of Sudan. In January, the United States officially declared that the RSF had committed genocide in Sudan.
UN Experts Track Illicit UAE Cargo Flights to Chad, Link to RSF in Sudan’s Darfur Region
In their November update, UN experts investigating the possible smuggling of weapons from Chad to Darfur in violation of the arms embargo identified at least 24 Il-76TD cargo flights that landed at Amgarras Airport in Chad last year.
They noted that these flights coincided with intensified fighting in El Fasher, particularly “increased drone activity carried out primarily by the RSF for combat and intelligence purposes,” which the experts said represented “a technological milestone in conducting hostilities.”
Some of the flights identified in the report were linked to airlines previously associated with “military logistics and illicit arms transportation.” Experts noted that two of these had previously been accused of violating the arms embargo.
The experts also examined “regular departures” to Chad from airports in the UAE—Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain in Abu Dhabi emirate—and found that the flights frequently disappeared from radar during critical moments.
One report described a flight leaving Ras Al Khaimah, disappearing mid-flight, then later appearing in N’Djamena (Chad’s capital) before returning to Abu Dhabi.
However, the critical issue is that the UN experts stated they were unable to prove the planes were carrying weapons because “the flights lacked evidence related to the specific contents being transported.”
UN Experts Caution Against Linking UAE Flights to Arms Smuggling Amid Sudan Genocide Allegations
Four of the five UN experts said that although the flights “represented an important new trend,” their findings “failed to meet evidentiary standards relating to arms transfers.”
For example, while residents of Nyala in South Darfur reported “cargo plane activity,” and informants attributed it to RSF logistical operations, no other confirmed evidence was found about the nature of the cargo.
Therefore, the experts said it was “premature to conclude that these flights were part of a weapons smuggling network.” They also added that the links between several of the flights and logistics companies involved in past arms violations “do not provide evidence of current arms transfers.”
They clarified that “additionally, the patterns and anomalies in flight paths, such as radar disappearance during the flight and unregistered take-offs, raised concerns but did not provide definitive evidence directly linking these flights to arms shipments.”
These revelations come just days after the International Court of Justice in The Hague heard a case filed by Sudan accusing the UAE of “complicity in genocide” during the war.
The court heard claims that the RSF was responsible for severe human rights violations, including mass killings, rape, and forced displacement in western Darfur.
