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Could Sudan's RSF Survive Without the Emirates?

Could Sudan's RSF Survive Without the Emirates? — a Fronts video briefing on Africa.

Simon Whistler • December 2, 2025

Could Sudan's RSF Survive Without the Emirates?

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Note: this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or inconsistencies.

The rapid support forces of Sudan and the United Arab Emirates might be a match made in heaven. As the RSF fights on the front lines, battering the Sudanese armed forces and carrying out atrocities against civilians, the UAE ensures that the slaughter can continue. Brilliant.

The RSF has the manpower, and if they win, they can lay claim to the territory. The UAE has the money, the connections, the hardware, and the diplomatic clout to ensure that the RSF doesn't just win, but that they escape judgment on the global stage. They exist hand-in-hand in a near-perfect geopolitical symbiosis.

The proxy force acts on behalf of the sponsor, and the sponsor feeds its proxy. But what would happen if, in some hypothetical scenario, the UAE's support suddenly disappeared? What would happen to the RSF if their source of money, their hardware, and their geopolitical cover were to abandon them by surprise?

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