Smoke hangs in the air above Port Sudan as Sudanese authorities struggle to contain fires caused by a series of drone attacks that have ravaged the city for three days, reports the Middle East Eye.Port Sudan is currently Sudan’s de facto capital and home of its army-backed government, which blames the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its “regional sponsor”, the UAE, for drone strikes that began early on Sunday morning.
On May 6, Sudan’s security and defence council announced it was cutting off diplomatic ties with the UAE over its support for the RSF, a day after the ICJ dismissed a Sudanese case accusing Abu Dhabi of complicity in genocide.
Mutasim Ali, legal adviser at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, condemned the decision.
“The international community, through the ICJ, was offered yet again another opportunity to prevent and stop an unfolding genocide,” he told MEE.
“While there remains hope in exploring alternative accountability strategies, the RSF and the UAE will now continue to commit egregious atrocities, without the immediate prospect of intervention.”
The RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023, has not yet claimed responsibility for the Port Sudan attacks, while the UAE has condemned them.
Attacks began early on May 4, when drones struck Sudan’s last functioning civilian international airport, destroying parts of its roof.
[Read more on Radiancenews.com]