Sudan accuses Britain of abandoning UN Security Council meeting agenda

Sudan has accused Britain of altering, at the last minute, the format and agenda of a closed-door UN Security Council meeting.

Britain is leading talks to end the war in Sudan, which pits the army led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, against Gen Mohamed Dagalo’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The UN meeting was held on Monday after Sudanese representatives requested to discuss what they called the UAE’s support for the RSF.

The session sought by Sudan was to have included states currently not represented in the Security Council.

But the meeting was changed to a closed-consultation format, meaning Sudanese representatives could not attend.

“The United Kingdom, which designates itself as a penholder on Sudan at the Security Council, however, intervened to alter the meeting’s agenda and format, transforming it into a discussion on the ‘wider situation in Sudan’,” the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said. The ministry said it “regrets that Britain is abandoning its moral and political duty as a permanent member of the Security Council and its obligation to address Sudanese issues in the Council”.

Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE had submitted a letter to the Security Council, in which it condemned the spread of disinformation.

There are false narratives aimed at deflecting responsibility and undermining international efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, state news agency Wam quoted Ms Nusseibeh as saying.

In a separate letter to the Security Council last week, Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN, said the Emirates rejected Sudan’s accusations that it backs the Rapid Support Forces.

“All allegations of the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in any form of aggression or destabilisation in Sudan, or its provision of any military, logistical, financial or political support to any faction in Sudan, are spurious, unfounded, and lack any credible evidence to support them,” Mr Abushahab wrote.

Fighting broke out last April between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The UN estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 people have been killed, and about eight million displaced.

The UN Security Council on Saturday expressed concern over escalating fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur region and warned against a possible offensive by the RSF and allied militias in El Fasher.

The city is the only one of Darfur region’s five state capitals not under RSF control and hosts a large number of refugees. On Sunday, the UAE called for an end to the fighting and return to dialogue.

“The UAE again calls on all warring parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and to take immediate, decisive measures to de-escalate tensions,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.