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Gold rush: how the UAE fuels the war in Sudan
In grim replaying of colonial plunder, the UAE is arming both sides in Sudan’s civil war that broke out in April 2023, paying itself handsomely from the nation’s gold reserves, reports ROGER McKENZIE
A refugee camp in Sudan

GOLD is at the heart of the carnage taking place in Sudan’s civil war. According to the UN, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group is using the proceeds from gold mining to fund its devastating war against the country’s military.

The UN report from earlier this year is supported by a source from within Sudan. My source, who cannot be identified because to do so would place their life in danger, also claims that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has helped supply arms to the RSF in return for getting its hands on the rich gold reserves of the north African nation.

The UAE denies the allegation, which was also levelled earlier this year by the UN. At the time the UAE Foreign Ministry claimed they were “not supplying arms and ammunition to any of the warring parties,” and did not take sides in the current conflict.

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