Attacks on Sudan’s Port Sudan threaten Red Sea safety, ministry says, blaming UAE
May 12, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that recent drone attacks on the eastern city of Port Sudan threaten Red Sea navigation safety and accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) allegedly behind them.
Port Sudan has faced drone attacks over several days targeting its seaport, airport, fuel depots, a power station, a hotel housing diplomats and military bases, the ministry said.
“These attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea,” the ministry said in a statement, calling for “effective measures… against the regional sponsor” of the RSF.
The ministry accused the sponsor, implicitly the UAE, of providing the RSF with strategic drones and weapons used in the Port Sudan attacks and of bringing in mercenaries to operate the drones and fight.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday receiving notifications from ships near Port Sudan of GPS interference affecting navigation systems.
The attacks drew widespread international condemnation, including from the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Saudi Arabia, the United States, European Union (EU) and Egypt.
The foreign ministry acknowledged the condemnations of what it termed “external aggression” targeting civilian infrastructure, airports and ports.
The ministry claimed the attacks aimed to destroy the Sudanese state and prolong the war after the army and its allies regained territory from the RSF, which it referred to as the “terrorist Janjaweed militia”.
The ministry noted the EU had pointed to an “external dimension” in the attacks and praised the stance of the U.S. and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), an organisation focused on regional security.
The accusations come after Sudan severed diplomatic ties with the UAE, labelling it an “aggressor state” over alleged arms supplies to the RSF. Sudan previously filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and has a pending complaint before the UN Security Council.