Sudan’s foreign minister rejects Chad’s demand for apology
December 11, 2023 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq has revealed that Chad has requested an apology from Sudan over accusations that it supported the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in their ongoing conflict with the Sudanese army. But he maintained that his government would not apologize.
On November 27, Lt Gen Yasir al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army and member of the Sovereign Council, accused Chad of allowing Emirati weapons and ammunition to be transported through its airports to support the RSF.
In an interview with Sudan TV on Monday, Al-Sadiq stated that Chad summoned Sudan’s ambassador and demanded an apology for Al-Atta’s statements within three days. The Chadian government threatened to take unspecified “measures” if Sudan did not comply.
However, al-Sadiq firmly rejected this demand, stating that Sudan’s accusations were based on evidence, including satellite images and aerial photography, that Chad had provided logistical support to the RSF through the UAE.
He explained that Sudan’s embassy in N’Djamena and consulate in Abéché had attempted to present this evidence to Chadian authorities, but they had disregarded it.
He explained that Chad’s position on the conflict had initially been neutral, but it had changed after Emirati officials visited N’Djamena.
Al-Sadiq underscored that Sudan had consistently tried to communicate with Dubai to halt Emirati support for the RSF, but their efforts were unsuccessful. As a result, Sudan notified several countries and requested their assistance in persuading the UAE to cease its support.
“Al-Atta’s accusations came after Sudan had reached an impasse with the Emirates,” he stressed.
In November, al-Atta had said that the UAE supplied weapons to the RSF through the Am Jars airport in Chad. He had also labelled the UAE as a “mafia state.”
Despite having evidence of Emirati involvement in the conflict, Sudan did not initially provoke the UAE. However, Sudan retaliated after the UAE expelled Sudanese diplomats from its territory, said the minister. He emphasized that international law permits Sudan to respond to such actions.
In response to al-Atta accusations, the UAE government requested that the Sudanese military attaché his deputy and the cultural attaché leave the country. Sudan retaliated by expelling 15 Emirati diplomats.
Al-Sadiq criticized the presence of the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on the sidelines of the extraordinary Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit in Djibouti, which addressed the Sudanese crisis last Saturday, December 9. He viewed this as a sign of IGAD’s capitulation to external pressures, given that the UAE is not a member of IGAD or the African Union.
He also accused IGAD of conspiring against Sudan through the final statement of the summit, which contained points that had not been agreed upon. He alleged that the IGAD Executive Secretariat acted in bad faith to orchestrate a conspiracy against Sudan, prompting the Sudanese Foreign Ministry to issue a statement rejecting aspects of the summit’s final statement.
(ST)