Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit secure an area in the East Nile province, Sudan on June 22, 2019. Photo: AP.
Officials in London prioritized strategic ties with the Gulf monarchy over legal obligations to prevent the genocide in Sudan
British authorities suppressed critical intelligence and obstructed international intervention to shield the UAE from accountability for its backing of the genocide of non-Arab tribes in Sudan, according to information revealed during a parliamentary committee hearing on 23 June.
Nathaniel Raymond, director of the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, testified that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) ignored two years of warnings before the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran El-Fasher in October 2025.
The subsequent massacre claimed at least 60,000 civilian lives, a figure Raymond alleged officials attempted to downplay for “political” reasons.
UK facilitated genocidal campaign in Sudan to protect lucrative diplomatic ties with Dubai
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The British government deliberately suppressed intelligence and derailed international action to shield the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from accountability during the genocidal slaughter… pic.twitter.com/ExfLf65qwm— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 23, 2026
Raymond told the International Development Committee that London “prioritized HMG’s economic, security, and diplomatic relationships with the UAE above preventing the intentional starvation, forced displacement, and the genocidal slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians.”
Evidence presented to MPs included tracking mobile handsets between Addis Ababa, Abu Dhabi, and RSF territory, suggesting a clandestine weaponry pipeline.
While the UAE and Ethiopia have denied supporting the militia, FCDO officials reportedly admitted that “significant private pressure” from Abu Dhabi restricted the UK response.
In May 2024, the department requested that Raymond’s private university lab publicly leak sensitive tracking data because the UK government would not confront the UAE directly.
The testimony detailed a missed opportunity following UN Security Council Resolution 2736, when Abu Dhabi reportedly ordered RSF leader Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo Musa to pause operations to gauge global reaction.
#Sudan: New @unhumanrights report says sexual violence is being used consistently to terrorise and traumatise civilians in the ongoing conflict, risking peace and social cohesion for years to come.
All perpetrators must be fully held to account, incl those exercising command… pic.twitter.com/KbIvxEoGKy
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) June 23, 2026
Raymond stated that once the UAE “assessed there would be no consequences, the attack resumed.”
This policy failure spanned the administrations of former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, involving former UK foreign secretaries David Cameron and David Lammy, and current Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Raymond concluded that placing strategic ties above legal obligations resulted in “one of the single largest mass casualty events of the 21st Century.”
Iran’s Strikes Inside UAE Fuel ‘Rapid Collapse’ of Genocidal RSF Militia in Sudan
A report by BBC published in April linked the UAE to a Colombian mercenary network known as the “Desert Wolves,” assisting the RSF in Sudan.
A Conflict Insights Group (CIG) report tracked more than 50 contractors acting as drone pilots and artillerymen during the fall of El-Fasher.
A network of Colombian mercenaries backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided critical support to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enabling it to capture the western city of el-Fasher last year, a new report says.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) April 23, 2026
CIG director Justin Lynch told BBC that “The scale of atrocities and siege in El-Fasher wouldn’t have happened without the drone operations the mercenaries provided.”
🚨HUMAN SECURITY EMERGENCY🚨
El-Fasher has fallen to RSF. HRL finds evidence of mass killings including door-to-door clearance operations and objects consistent with reported bodies on berm entrapping El-Fasher.#KeepEyesOnSudan🛰️@AirbusSpace @Maxarhttps://t.co/1HApllgNL5 pic.twitter.com/yrCbM5HxeP
— Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at YSPH (@HRL_YaleSPH) October 27, 2025
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab identified satellite imagery of massive blood pools in El-Fasher consistent with human remains following the 26 October 2025 RSF takeover, with the UN subsequently determining the violence bore “hallmarks of genocide.”
