In April 2023, the war broke out in Sudan between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces militia; its impact has been devastating on so many levels. This war, however, is also prolonged by external actors, mainly the UAE. Alarmingly, US products started to be used by the UAE to help the RSF militia, which warrants investigation by the US authorities to avoid being part of the violations and massacres committed by the militia against Sudanese. 

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) trace their roots back to Sudan’s Janjaweed militias.

Formally established in 2013, the group was initially leveraged by the deposed regime to combat rebels in Darfur and South Kordofan. In 2017, Sudan’s parliament granted the RSF official legal status as a recognized security force. Since then, the group has been implicated in widespread atrocities across the country. These include the destruction of villages, mass killings, and systematic sexual violence. The RSF has also been linked to arbitrary detentions and drone strikes targeting hospitals and journalists. Additionally, reports show the group has recruited and used child soldiers in its operations. 

For years, the UAE has backed the RSF militia with financial and military support, including recently supplying foreign Colombian combatants. This assistance has substantially expanded since the conflict began. The UAE maintains significant economic and political stakes in Sudan that it expects to be secured if its RSF allies gain control. These interests encompass the exploitation of gold and agricultural assets, control of strategically important Red Sea ports, and blocking the return to power of Islamist groups, which the UAE traditionally opposes politically.

Recently, cases where the UAE used US products to back the RSF have been exposed by the media, and no actions have been taken so far by the US authorities to address them

In June 2026, a leaked UN report by Reuters exposed that a Boeing 727 aircraft, operated by a company started by a former U.S. military contractor, transported weapons, drones, mercenaries, and fighters from the UAE to the RSF militia. This CADG company, formerly known as the Central Asia Development Group, executed multi-million-dollar contracts for the US government in Afghanistan, Kenya, and Iraq. 

In another case, the RSF militia launched a drone attack on Sudan. OSINT analysis of the drone’s debris revealed that the drone is Turkish-made, but the engine used is made by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of the US-based RTX defense company. In February 2025, RTX expanded its ties with the UAE, the main sponsor of the RSF militia, by opening its first maintenance facility in the South Asia, Middle East, and North Africa region.

In September 2026, Anthropic, the leading US AI company, exposed that a UAE-linked AI influence operation targeted UN experts critical of its role in the Sudan war; compiling counter accountability dossiers for the UN report to create a campaign to disinform the public about the UN report that revealed its destructive role in Sudan.

US legislators began paying attention to the UAE’s use of US technologies in African conflicts in June 2026. Representative Ilhan Omar proposed several amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that require reporting on UAE activities in Africa, including conducting an assessment of whether U.S.-origin technology is being used to commit gross violations of human rights. This push by Congress will help in deterring the UAE from further using US technologies in its wars in Sudan and across Africa. Meanwhile, an investigation should be opened by the US authorities into the current violation cases and to stop them from carrying on their collaboration with the UAE and the RSF militia.

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