A court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced eight people to life imprisonment on Thursday over arms trafficking and money laundering connected to Sudan's army, according to state media.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal found the convicted individuals supplied weapons, ammunition and military equipment to the Sudanese army and participated in an integrated scheme to launder money between the two countries. The defendants forged documents using UAE companies and bank accounts to channel funds related to the arms deals and conceal their sources and destinations, the court said. The court ordered confiscation of ammunition and communications devices and deportation of the convicted individuals after they serve their sentences.
A court order stated the arms deals and money laundering "endangered UAE interests."
Relations between the UAE and Sudan have deteriorated amid the Sudanese military's accusations that Abu Dhabi supplies weapons to the Rapid Support Forces, a rival paramilitary group fighting the army since April 2023. The UAE has denied the allegation. Sudan's war has displaced over 14 million people and created severe poverty and food shortages. This week, more than 100 people, mostly women and children, were killed in drone strikes on a busy market in Nyala, a city in Darfur, according to reports. Doctors Without Borders said a hospital it supports received 36 bodies after the attacks, 21 of them in civilian clothing, and treated more than 150 wounded.