UAE says Sudan army's ICJ application is 'cynical publicity stunt'

The UAE is seeking the "immediate dismissal" of a case brought against it at the International Court of Justice by Sudan, an official said on Thursday.

Sudan filed a case against the UAE on Wednesday, accusing it of supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces.

The army has accused the RSF of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also cited alleged violations of the Genocide Convention relating to the RSF's alleged acts against the Masalit group in West Darfur.

A UAE official said the application to the top UN court was "a cynical publicity stunt".

“The UAE is aware of the recent application by the Sudanese Armed Force's representative to the International Court of Justice, which is nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt aimed at diverting attention from the established complicity of the Sudanese Armed Forces in the widespread atrocities that continue to devastate Sudan and its people," the official said on Thursday.

The official cited a recent humanitarian aid conference the UAE facilitated in Ethiopia, and said the Emirates "has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire – and most recently a Ramadan humanitarian pause – and for both warring parties to disengage, and the restoration of a civilian government in Sudan."

"The Sudanese Armed Forces’ application to the ICJ does not absolve it from its legal and moral responsibility for its criminal acts and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the country,” the official added.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with a power struggle between the Sudanese Army and RSF causing millions to flee the fighting. The UN said in 2024 that both sides may have committed war crimes.

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, posted on X on Thursday saying that a ceasefire should be a priority, "but the army and its Muslim Brotherhood partners, remnants of the former regime, continue their feeble media manoeuvres to justify their rejection of peace and the political track, while providing protection to those wanted by the International Criminal Court".