UK Withheld Intelligence on Ethiopian Support for Sudan Militia Over UAE Concerns

The United Kingdom government received intelligence as early as 2024 indicating that Ethiopia appeared to support a paramilitary militia engaged in Sudan’s civil war. Despite receiving this information, British officials chose not to disclose the findings publicly due to concerns about upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In May 2024, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials told Yale investigator Nathaniel Raymond that private UAE pressure prevented the UK from publicly linking Ethiopia and the UAE to the Rapid Support Forces.

A highway through El Obeid connects Darfur in western Sudan to eastern Sudan and serves as a strategically significant battleground.