Sudan’s army-aligned government cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, claiming that the Gulf nation has been supplying arms to the rival paramilitary forces attacking its de facto capital.
Official sources reported that a series of drones targeted locations throughout Port Sudan on Tuesday, including the only remaining international civilian airport operating in the conflict-ridden nation. This marked the third consecutive day of assaults on the government’s centre of authority.
Nearly all humanitarian assistance entering Sudan, where famine has been declared in specific regions and around 25 million people are facing severe food shortages, comes through Port Sudan.
An army official indicated that a second drone strike on Tuesday hit the primary military base in the city, with observers noting that a nearby hotel was also hit.
Both locations in the city centre are close to the home of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose forces have been in conflict with the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, since April 2023.
The army has attributed the attacks to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), labelling them as a “proxy” of Abu Dhabi.
On Tuesday, it branded the UAE as an “aggressor state,” severed diplomatic ties, and closed its embassy and consulate in the Gulf nation, as announced by Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim during a televised statement.
Until Sunday, Port Sudan was viewed as a safe refuge for hundreds of thousands of individuals displaced by the two-year conflict between the army and the RSF.
The United Nations has cautioned that harm to civilian infrastructure could “further worsen human suffering in what is already the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”
The drone strikes, which also targeted a military installation, came just a day after the country’s central fuel depot was attacked, resulting in a significant fire near the eastern city.
