May 9, 2025 • 12 mins
Armed drones struck the airport and harbor in Sudan’s main coastal city Port Sudan, escalating a deadly conflict between the North African nation’s army and the Rapid Support Forces militia.
Sudan has accused the UAE of supporting the RSF and has cut off diplomatic ties and withdrawn its ambassador. The UAE firmly denies any involvement.
On this episode, Bloomberg’s Nairobi based reporter Simon Marks joins Jennifer Zabasajja to explain why this escalation opens up a new front in the two year long civil war, and what evidence there is that the UAE is backing the RSF.
For more stories from the region, subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Two years into Sudan's civil war, the fighting has entered
a new phase, with explosions ripping through the Red Sea
City Port Sudan.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Sudan has been witnessing over the past two years a
crime of transgressions over its sovereignty and the unity of
its land and the security of its citizens.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The government has blamed the United Arab Emirates for allegedly
arming its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, and has cut
off diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
The Security and Defense Council has decided the following first
the designation of the United Arab Emirates as an enemy state, second,
cutting diplomatic ties with the UAE, Third with during the
Sudanese Embassy and Consulate.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
The UAE strongly denies any involvement, and last week the
ICE dismissed a case brought against the UAE by Sudan.
On this week's Next Africa podcast, we look at what
this new round of fighting tells us about the state
of the war in Sudan and why the government is
blaming the UAE for allegedly arming the RSF.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm Jennifer's Abasajap and this is the Next Africa Podcast,
bringing you one story each week from the continent driving
the future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg
can provide. Joining me to discuss this this week is
Bloomberg Simon Marx, who's based in Nairobi but has been
following this story very closely. Simon, thank you so much
(01:42):
for joining us. It's great to have you back on
the podcast. Let's just start here with a bit of
context before we get into these most recent developments. Tell
us about Port Sudan and how strategic this city really is.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
So first and foremost, Port Sudan is a vital entry
for Sudan. It's also the de facto capital of the country.
Since the war broke out there in twenty twenty three,
there was no way that the military establishment was going
to stay in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, due to the
fact that place was completely overrun with conflict, and it
(02:18):
has since become really the place where decisions are made
by the Sudanese army. The likes of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran,
Russia have all set up diplomatic missions in Port Sudan
and since the war broke out, have had good relations
with the military backed government, and it's a vital place
(02:40):
for the country based on the Red Sea, which is
obviously a choke point for a.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Lot of trade.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
And there's absolutely no way that the country could really
survive if Port Sudan is shut down. It's already obviously
in a very tricky situation from a humanitarian point of view,
with widespread famine in many parts of the country.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
So then bring us to what's been happening over the
past few days. There's quite a bit of accusations that
are being held back and forth talk about what these
latest attacks mean and what happened.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
I think it's important to note that since the outbreak
of war in early twenty twenty three, Ports Sudan has
remained unscathed from any of the conflict. The Rapid Support Forces,
which is fighting the army, have not touched this place.
They've been pretty much lobbied by the international community to
(03:37):
take their hands off the city. It's where the UN
have all its agencies, it's where the ministries are based,
and it's where a lot of displaced people from the
conflict have found some sort of refuge. Both in Port
Sudan and the surrounding area. So it's really that one
last little corner of the country where people can actually
(03:57):
get work done to try and improve the livelihoods of
Since Sunday of this week, we've seen drone attacks hit
the city in various locations, and it appears to be
barely targeted, looking towards infrastructure that the army is dependent on,
be it fuel depots or major sites within the port,
(04:22):
the various terminals where the containers are coming in, for example.
So that is basically what's been going on, but as
you say, shrouded in some mystery because the RSF have
not claimed responsibility for these attacks and the Sudanese governments
have blamed the United Arab Emirates for being.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Involved, and Simon, I do want to get to those
points and maybe some of the proxies behind these attacks
in just a bit, but before that, can we talk
about the RSF and what these you just mentioned. They
are not claiming that they are involved. But does this
suggest that the conflict is far from over?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
I think definitely yes. I mean we've seen various rounds
and phases of this conflict, the latest being a couple
of months ago. When the army managed to take back
the capital Cartoon from the RSF, which had controlled the
capital basically since the beginning of the conflict. And there's
been several rounds of peace talks, both in Europe and
(05:29):
in the Gulf to try and mediate between the two sides,
but in the end, the two generals spearheading this conflict
have not met face to face, and so really it's
just continued to escalate in different corners of the country
and now we're really homing in on the real center
of power of the army, which no one thought was
(05:53):
going to happen. I don't think this had remained a
sort of unwritten rule that the conflict it would not
come to this part of Sudan.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Does it signal that the RSF, though potentially or both
both the army and the RSF, are still quite strong
in this conflict, and as you mentioned, are not willing
to back down.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
But it also represents a slight shift in military tactics
from the RSF, which have been very reliant on ground forces,
heavily mobile units, often traveling using Toyota high luxters around
especially western parts of Duff Or where they know the
(06:36):
terrain very well an artillery, and I think more and
more as this conflict has moved forward, they've become more
dependent on drone technology to achieve their objectives. There's no way,
really they were going to get soldiers to pource you
down just due to the terrain there. It's very flat
leading to the coast and the army are defending it
(06:56):
very well, and so these drones obviously give it that
strategic advantage where they can just fly in quickly undercover
and take out key infrastructure sites such as the port
and the fuel depots, etc.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Stick with us, Simon when we come back. We're going
to dig into this turning point as you mentioned in
the conflict, and more about what you were alluding to earlier,
who's potentially supporting the rival sides, and what attempts there
are two broker piece deal. We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Today. We're talking about the Sudanese Civil War as new
explosions rip through the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
Our reporter Simon Marx is still with us and has
been covering this story. The Sudanese government is blaming the
UAE for allegedly arming the RSF what evidence is there
that this is the case, though.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Well, since the beginning of the conflict, you've had a
number of outfits investigate these claims, including investigators working for
the UN who released a report last.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Year where they said that ever that the UAE were
backing the RSF is quote unquote credible. They have used
a whole host of different elements to back that up,
including like data, including sources on the ground, particularly in
Chad and Darfur, who are telling them that flights have
(08:18):
come in from the UAE and other countries also with
military equipment allegedly from the United Arab Emirates, but Abu
Dhabi has repeatedly denied this and said they don't back
any side. It's very difficult obviously to track weapons deliveries,
especially when third parties are involved, companies traffickers, so that
(08:43):
the debate is ongoing. However, UN investigators, the European Union, Amnesty, International,
top US politicians, and also many of my diplomatic and
international intelligence sources all say that the United Arab Emirates
point during this war did help facilitate bring arms to
(09:04):
the rss That's, of course, something Abu Dhabi sternly denies
and has repeatedly pointed out is not true.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Considering all of this, Simon and all of the various
players that may or may not reportedly be involved, what
does this mean for peace talks and ultimately what does
this mean for the Sudanese people and the humanitarian crisis
that is already the situation at this point.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Well, as we speak, there are efforts once again for
the unpteethed time from the Saudi Arabia and the US
to try and get peace talks back on the road again.
They've so far proved quite infamous. A lot of people
expected to change in tactics under the new Trump administration
(09:52):
and the officials that he's appointed. So far though we've
not seen a huge amount of focused actually from the US. Obviously,
things have been very focused.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
On Ukraine, on Israel.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Gaza, and even the Democratic Republic of Congo with a
potential minerals deal. So the focused honestly on Sudan has
once again fallen by the wayside to some extent, and
really it's anyone's guess when one of these sides will
realize that the game's up. But if proxies continue to
(10:28):
fuel it, it could honestly go on and.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
On and on, Yeah, which means for the people on
the ground, it's even more and more dire of a situation. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
I think the number of areas under famine according to
the UN, there.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Was ten regions last month and that's expected to almost
double to seventeen in just a few weeks.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
So it's extremely dire.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And you know, access for humanitarians journalists is pretty limited,
especially in the west of the country where there's a
lot of conflict, so the public aren't even being exposed
to really die a situation to put pressure on the
generals to stop this war.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
And you can read more of our reporting on Sudan
on Bloomberg platforms right now. Here's some of the other
stories we've been following across the region this week. South
African President Sira Ramaposa has unveiled the second phase of
a reform program aimed at firing up an economy that's
grown by an average of less than one percent annually
(11:31):
over the past decade, and Nigerian senators on Wednesday backed
four tax bills that are part of President bullet To
Naboo's efforts to lift government revenue, but join lawmakers in
the Lower National Assembly in rejecting his plan to increase
the value added tax rate. You can follow these stories
across Bloomberg platforms, including the Next African Newsletter. We'll put
(11:55):
a link to that in the show notes. This program
was produced by Adrian Bradley and tiwa Adebayo. Don't forget
to follow and review this show wherever you usually get
your podcasts, But for now, I'm Jennifer Zabasanja. Thanks as
always for listening.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Two years into Sudan's civil war, the fighting has entered
a new phase, with explosions ripping through the Red Sea
City Port Sudan.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Sudan has been witnessing over the past two years a
crime of transgressions over its sovereignty and the unity of
its land and the security of its citizens.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The government has blamed the United Arab Emirates for allegedly
arming its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, and has cut
off diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
The Security and Defense Council has decided the following first
the designation of the United Arab Emirates as an enemy state, second,
cutting diplomatic ties with the UAE, Third with during the
Sudanese Embassy and Consulate.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
The UAE strongly denies any involvement, and last week the
ICE dismissed a case brought against the UAE by Sudan.
On this week's Next Africa podcast, we look at what
this new round of fighting tells us about the state
of the war in Sudan and why the government is
blaming the UAE for allegedly arming the RSF.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm Jennifer's Abasajap and this is the Next Africa Podcast,
bringing you one story each week from the continent driving
the future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg
can provide. Joining me to discuss this this week is
Bloomberg Simon Marx, who's based in Nairobi but has been
following this story very closely. Simon, thank you so much
(01:42):
for joining us. It's great to have you back on
the podcast. Let's just start here with a bit of
context before we get into these most recent developments. Tell
us about Port Sudan and how strategic this city really is.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
So first and foremost, Port Sudan is a vital entry
for Sudan. It's also the de facto capital of the country.
Since the war broke out there in twenty twenty three,
there was no way that the military establishment was going
to stay in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, due to the
fact that place was completely overrun with conflict, and it
(02:18):
has since become really the place where decisions are made
by the Sudanese army. The likes of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran,
Russia have all set up diplomatic missions in Port Sudan
and since the war broke out, have had good relations
with the military backed government, and it's a vital place
(02:40):
for the country based on the Red Sea, which is
obviously a choke point for a.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Lot of trade.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
And there's absolutely no way that the country could really
survive if Port Sudan is shut down. It's already obviously
in a very tricky situation from a humanitarian point of view,
with widespread famine in many parts of the country.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
So then bring us to what's been happening over the
past few days. There's quite a bit of accusations that
are being held back and forth talk about what these
latest attacks mean and what happened.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
I think it's important to note that since the outbreak
of war in early twenty twenty three, Ports Sudan has
remained unscathed from any of the conflict. The Rapid Support Forces,
which is fighting the army, have not touched this place.
They've been pretty much lobbied by the international community to
(03:37):
take their hands off the city. It's where the UN
have all its agencies, it's where the ministries are based,
and it's where a lot of displaced people from the
conflict have found some sort of refuge. Both in Port
Sudan and the surrounding area. So it's really that one
last little corner of the country where people can actually
(03:57):
get work done to try and improve the livelihoods of
Since Sunday of this week, we've seen drone attacks hit
the city in various locations, and it appears to be
barely targeted, looking towards infrastructure that the army is dependent on,
be it fuel depots or major sites within the port,
(04:22):
the various terminals where the containers are coming in, for example.
So that is basically what's been going on, but as
you say, shrouded in some mystery because the RSF have
not claimed responsibility for these attacks and the Sudanese governments
have blamed the United Arab Emirates for being.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Involved, and Simon, I do want to get to those
points and maybe some of the proxies behind these attacks
in just a bit, but before that, can we talk
about the RSF and what these you just mentioned. They
are not claiming that they are involved. But does this
suggest that the conflict is far from over?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
I think definitely yes. I mean we've seen various rounds
and phases of this conflict, the latest being a couple
of months ago. When the army managed to take back
the capital Cartoon from the RSF, which had controlled the
capital basically since the beginning of the conflict. And there's
been several rounds of peace talks, both in Europe and
(05:29):
in the Gulf to try and mediate between the two sides,
but in the end, the two generals spearheading this conflict
have not met face to face, and so really it's
just continued to escalate in different corners of the country
and now we're really homing in on the real center
of power of the army, which no one thought was
(05:53):
going to happen. I don't think this had remained a
sort of unwritten rule that the conflict it would not
come to this part of Sudan.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Does it signal that the RSF, though potentially or both
both the army and the RSF, are still quite strong
in this conflict, and as you mentioned, are not willing
to back down.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
But it also represents a slight shift in military tactics
from the RSF, which have been very reliant on ground forces,
heavily mobile units, often traveling using Toyota high luxters around
especially western parts of Duff Or where they know the
(06:36):
terrain very well an artillery, and I think more and
more as this conflict has moved forward, they've become more
dependent on drone technology to achieve their objectives. There's no way,
really they were going to get soldiers to pource you
down just due to the terrain there. It's very flat
leading to the coast and the army are defending it
(06:56):
very well, and so these drones obviously give it that
strategic advantage where they can just fly in quickly undercover
and take out key infrastructure sites such as the port
and the fuel depots, etc.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Stick with us, Simon when we come back. We're going
to dig into this turning point as you mentioned in
the conflict, and more about what you were alluding to earlier,
who's potentially supporting the rival sides, and what attempts there
are two broker piece deal. We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Today. We're talking about the Sudanese Civil War as new
explosions rip through the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
Our reporter Simon Marx is still with us and has
been covering this story. The Sudanese government is blaming the
UAE for allegedly arming the RSF what evidence is there
that this is the case, though.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Well, since the beginning of the conflict, you've had a
number of outfits investigate these claims, including investigators working for
the UN who released a report last.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Year where they said that ever that the UAE were
backing the RSF is quote unquote credible. They have used
a whole host of different elements to back that up,
including like data, including sources on the ground, particularly in
Chad and Darfur, who are telling them that flights have
(08:18):
come in from the UAE and other countries also with
military equipment allegedly from the United Arab Emirates, but Abu
Dhabi has repeatedly denied this and said they don't back
any side. It's very difficult obviously to track weapons deliveries,
especially when third parties are involved, companies traffickers, so that
(08:43):
the debate is ongoing. However, UN investigators, the European Union, Amnesty, International,
top US politicians, and also many of my diplomatic and
international intelligence sources all say that the United Arab Emirates
point during this war did help facilitate bring arms to
(09:04):
the rss That's, of course, something Abu Dhabi sternly denies
and has repeatedly pointed out is not true.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Considering all of this, Simon and all of the various
players that may or may not reportedly be involved, what
does this mean for peace talks and ultimately what does
this mean for the Sudanese people and the humanitarian crisis
that is already the situation at this point.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Well, as we speak, there are efforts once again for
the unpteethed time from the Saudi Arabia and the US
to try and get peace talks back on the road again.
They've so far proved quite infamous. A lot of people
expected to change in tactics under the new Trump administration
(09:52):
and the officials that he's appointed. So far though we've
not seen a huge amount of focused actually from the US. Obviously,
things have been very focused.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
On Ukraine, on Israel.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Gaza, and even the Democratic Republic of Congo with a
potential minerals deal. So the focused honestly on Sudan has
once again fallen by the wayside to some extent, and
really it's anyone's guess when one of these sides will
realize that the game's up. But if proxies continue to
(10:28):
fuel it, it could honestly go on and.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
On and on, Yeah, which means for the people on
the ground, it's even more and more dire of a situation. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
I think the number of areas under famine according to
the UN, there.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Was ten regions last month and that's expected to almost
double to seventeen in just a few weeks.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
So it's extremely dire.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And you know, access for humanitarians journalists is pretty limited,
especially in the west of the country where there's a
lot of conflict, so the public aren't even being exposed
to really die a situation to put pressure on the
generals to stop this war.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
And you can read more of our reporting on Sudan
on Bloomberg platforms right now. Here's some of the other
stories we've been following across the region this week. South
African President Sira Ramaposa has unveiled the second phase of
a reform program aimed at firing up an economy that's
grown by an average of less than one percent annually
(11:31):
over the past decade, and Nigerian senators on Wednesday backed
four tax bills that are part of President bullet To
Naboo's efforts to lift government revenue, but join lawmakers in
the Lower National Assembly in rejecting his plan to increase
the value added tax rate. You can follow these stories
across Bloomberg platforms, including the Next African Newsletter. We'll put
(11:55):
a link to that in the show notes. This program
was produced by Adrian Bradley and tiwa Adebayo. Don't forget
to follow and review this show wherever you usually get
your podcasts, But for now, I'm Jennifer Zabasanja. Thanks as
always for listening.
Host
Jennifer Zabasajja
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