DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates reacted with outrage on Monday after the home of its ambassador in war-torn Sudan was attacked and badly damaged.
The oil-rich Gulf state, which has repeatedly denied accusations of involvement in the war, blamed the Sudanese armed forces for the “heinous” attack.
Sudan’s army denied carrying out the attack, insisting it does not target diplomatic missions.
The army accuses the UAE of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which it has been fighting since April 2023 in a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and ignited a dire humanitarian crisis.
“The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the heinous attack that targeted the residence of the UAE head of mission in Khartoum by a Sudanese army aircraft, which resulted in extensive damage to the building,” the official WAM news agency said.
“The UAE has called on the army to assume full responsibility for this cowardly act,” it added, describing it as a “flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic premises”.
The Sudanese army responded that it “condemns and denies the accusation” by the UAE, adding that “it does not target the headquarters of diplomatic missions, United Nations agencies or voluntary organisations and does not turn them into military bases and loot their assets”.
“The one that carries out these heinous and cowardly actions is the terrorist, rebel militia (RSF)… supported in committing all this by countries known to the world,” a statement said.
According to eyewitnesses in Khartoum, heavy clashes have raged in several parts of the capital for the past four days, in a major flare-up of hostilities.
In June, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed accused Abu Dhabi of giving financial and military support to the RSF, calling it the “main reason behind this protracted war”.
The UAE has denied allegations of supporting the RSF as “disinformation”, saying its efforts are focused exclusively on de-escalation and alleviating Sudan’s humanitarian suffering.