US advisor points to private traders in Sudan arms flow, downplays direct UAE role

September 7, 2026 (WASHINGTON) – Massad Boulos, senior advisor on Africa to President Donald Trump, suggested that private commercial networks rather than direct state intervention could be facilitating weapon flows to Sudan’s warring factions, echoing official denials from the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to the BBC’s Focus on Africa, Boulos addressed persistent allegations surrounding Abu Dhabi’s reported military backing of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Rather than endorsing reports linking regional governments directly to the conflict, the US envoy pointed toward shadow commercial conduits as a potential explanation for the persistent movement of arms.

“We meet with the UAE on a regular basis. I met with them last week,” Boulos said. “Their position is they deny any direct involvement. There might be some traders or whatever that are doing these sorts of supplies, providing supplies to both sides.”

The remark introduces a narrative centred on freelance arms dealers and intermediaries, offering an alternative to findings by UN panel experts and human rights monitors that have documented state-orchestrated logistical corridors funnelling heavy weaponry into Sudan.

Boulos declined to examine the specific mechanics of these illicit supply lines during the interview, saying Washington was “not here to go into these details” while stressing that external intervention extends far beyond a single capital.

The envoy pushed back against suggestions that Washington is hesitant to confront foreign sponsors of the conflict, framing the proliferation of weapons as a multilateral issue involving “at least 12 countries” assisting both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

According to Boulos, external actors are supplying drones, ammunition, fuel, spare parts, logistical assistance, and training to both sides of the civil war, which broke out in April 2023.

Instead of singling out individual states, Boulos argued that Washington’s priority is pressing the United Nations Security Council to implement a comprehensive, nationwide arms embargo covering all belligerents.

He emphasized that halting the influx of supplies, whether directed through state policy or non-state trade networks, remains the critical prerequisite to ending the bloodshed and reviving diplomatic negotiations.