World:   A French newspaper has shed light on the United Arab Emirates' growing influence in the East Africa region, particularly in Sudan and Ethiopia, raising concerns about proxy warfare and human rights violations. 

Mondafrique emphasizes in its report that this area, often overlooked by the international community, is now under the shadow of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which relies on armed militias, notably the feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Sudanese General Mohamed Hamdan Dogolo, also known as Hemedti.

It noted that Hemedti, as the leader of the RSF, Hemedti has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths in Darfur and Chad since 2003, the massacre of civilians in Yemen between 1997 and 2000, and the recent internal conflict in Sudan since April 2023, referred to as the "war of the generals."

According to Mondafrique, these brutal interventions by General Hemedti were made possible through substantial financial and diplomatic support from the UAE, showcasing their expertise in proxy warfare.

 Hemedti's Race to the Red Sea

Thanks to the triple support from the UAE, Ethiopia, and Chad, General Hemedti now has free rein in his attempt, if not to seize power in Sudan, then to significantly divide a war-torn country, the report added. 

The 40,000 men from his expeditionary force, mobilized in Yemen, have returned home and have been striving since April 2023 to defeat the regular army led by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the intelligence agencies inherited from the dictatorship of Omar El-Bashir.

"This has positioned Hemedti as a decisive geopolitical player in East Africa, despite documented war crimes and human rights violations over the past decade," Mondafrique added. "His Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have now seized western Sudan and almost the entire Khartoum. They are currently moving eastward and, by the end of 2023, gained control of Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah State."

The report pointed out that these extremely violent militias, supported by their Emirati allies, could soon gain access to the Red Sea and invest in Port Sudan. This aligns perfectly with MBZ's consistent strategy of controlling African and Arab ports, despite setbacks in Djibouti, where the Chinese took control of port facilities by establishing a military base and engaging with a thoroughly corrupt local political class.

The influence of the UAE extends beyond Sudan into Ethiopia, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed allegedly committed violations in the Tigray region with the support of the UAE's ruler, Mohammed bin Zayed. The French newspaper suggests that Emirati guarantees shielded Ethiopia's leader from significant Western condemnation despite widespread civilian casualties.

The report concludes that while a complete victory for the Rapid Support Forces seems unlikely given the strength of the Sudanese army, the situation may resemble that of Libya, with various groups competing for influence in a state of "neither war nor peace," leaving the civilian population in East Africa as the primary victims.