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Could Sudan's RSF Survive Without the Emirates?

Simon Whistler · December 2, 2025 · 24 min video · Africa

0:00Locked:2:00–24:24

Free 2-minute preview. The full 24 minutes is for Insiders.

What this episode covers

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

Chapters

  1. A Proxy Match Made in HeavenIn the free preview
  2. Why and How the UAE Backs RSFIn the free preview
  3. Arms, Gold, and Diplomatic LaunderingInsiders
  4. Could the RSF Survive Without UAE?Insiders

From the transcript

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 judgement 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?

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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