The move came after reports that Sudan’s air force downed an Emirati aircraft allegedly carrying Colombian mercenaries, leaving dozens dead
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has barred Sudanese planes from landing at its airports, the African state’s SUNA news agency reported on Wednesday, days after authorities accused the Gulf nation of backing foreign mercenaries involved in hostile acts.
SUNA cited a statement from the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority saying the UAE had also blocked a Sudanese airliner from taking off at Abu Dhabi Airport.
“The Civil Aviation Authority and Sudanese airlines were surprised by the UAE authorities’ ban on Sudanese airlines from landing at UAE airports,” it stated. The authority said it was coordinating with “the concerned bodies” on the situation and working with airlines to reschedule bookings for passengers departing and arriving from the UAE.
The Emirati government has yet to officially respond to Sudan’s statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, local media reported that Sudan’s air force destroyed an Emirati aircraft allegedly carrying Colombian mercenaries as it landed at a paramilitary-held airport in Darfur, killing at least 40 people.
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Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since 2023, when a brutal civil war erupted in the African state between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces, following a breakdown in negotiations over the framework for a transition to civilian rule.
The UN says the fighting, which has raged for more than two years, has plunged the country into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with thousands killed. The RSF and allied Arab militias have been accused of targeting the Masalit ethnic group and other non-Arab Sudanese in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, killing over 10,000 people in just two months from mid-April 2023.
Sudan’s government has repeatedly accused the UAE of arming and funding the RSF, and in May cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi over what it called a violation of national sovereignty. In a statement on Monday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said it possesses “irrefutable” evidence that the UAE is financing Colombian militants fighting alongside the RSF.
The UAE denies the claims, dismissing them as “baseless allegations” and “feeble media stunts” aimed at diverting attention from Sudan’s leadership’s role in prolonging the civil war.
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