UAE bars Sudanese aircraft from landing at its airports
The Sudanese aviation regulator said it was working with airlines to rebook affected passengers travelling between the two countries, as the abrupt halt caught many off guard.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has barred Sudanese aircraft from landing at its airports, Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority announced on Wednesday via the state-run news agency SUNA.
The UAE also reportedly blocked a Sudanese airliner from departing Abu Dhabi airport, a move that has left Khartoum both surprised and scrambling.
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The Sudanese aviation regulator said it was working with airlines to rebook affected passengers travelling between the two countries, as the abrupt halt caught many off guard.
"We are following up with airlines to reschedule passenger reservations," the authority noted, adding that it was taken aback by the decision.
Abu Dhabi authorities have yet to issue a public statement, and no official explanation has been offered, though the context of the diplomatic rupture is clear.
In May, Sudan severed diplomatic ties with the UAE, accusing the Gulf nation of backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in a brutal civil war that has raged since April 2023.
Port Sudan claims that the UAE has supplied the RSF with advanced weaponry, fuelling the deadly urban and rural warfare that has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands.
The UAE has consistently denied the allegations.
This aviation freeze is the latest escalation in a geopolitical feud that has turned regional allies into adversaries.
The Sudanese junta views the RSF's growing power, reportedly bolstered by foreign support, as a direct threat to its survival.
Meanwhile, the UAE finds itself under scrutiny for its wider role in the Horn of Africa, where its strategic interests have increasingly collided with fragile sovereignties.
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