As Sudan’s agony deepens, scrutiny sharpens on UAE and gold

Massacres in El-Fasher pushed Sudan’s war back into the global spotlight in Geneva. A Swiss NGO is drawing attention to the United Arab Emirates’ booming gold trade, widely seen as a key source of funding for the conflict. The “tragedy unfolding in El-Fasher (in the west of Sudan) is not a surprise… it is the direct result of the international community's inaction," Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Hassan Hamid told journalists on Tuesday. He warned that “international silence has enabled genocide.” Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF, rooted in Darfur’s Janjaweed militias, which committed genocide against civilians in Darfur two decades ago, quickly drew in heavy weapons and foreign backing. The conflict has so far killed tens of thousands, displaced over 14 million people, and driven parts of the country into famine. The most recent battle for Darfur has become ...