A senior Sudanese army commander said on Sunday that airports in neighbouring Chad would be considered military targets, accusing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
Yasir al-Atta, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and assistant commander-in-chief of the army, made the comments at a condolence ceremony in Gadaref, eastern Sudan, for a military media officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Ibrahim.
Sudan’s defence ministry said in December last year that the UAE had supplied the RSF with strategic drones equipped with guided missiles and that attacks had been launched from within Chad.
Areas of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, military sites north of Omdurman, and power stations in northern and central Sudan have been repeatedly targeted by Chinese-made “Long Wang 2” strategic drones, according to Sudanese officials.
“We will take retaliatory action against the UAE, the corrupt centres of influence in South Sudan, and we will take retaliatory action against Mohamed Kaka, the President of Chad,” al-Atta said. “And we warn him that the airports of N’Djamena and Amdjarass are legitimate targets for the Sudanese Armed Forces.”
He added: “We know what we are saying, and our words are not a joke at all, nor are they spoken lightly.” He stressed that his comments were not intended to stir emotions at the mourning ceremony.
Al-Atta said the army would achieve a military victory soon, vowing to destroy those he called the “Janjaweed” among Sudanese citizens and to pursue those he described as “Diaspora Arabs.”
“We will pursue everyone who fought against our nation from West Africa, South Sudan, and Libya, as well as the main supporter of this war, which is the UAE, led by Mohammed bin Zayed, the devil of the Arabs,” he continued.
Sudanese army and government leaders have repeatedly accused the UAE of providing military support to the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Sudan has previously complained about the UAE to the UN Security Council and filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice, accusing Abu Dhabi of complicity in alleged genocide against the Masalit ethnic group in West Darfur state.