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UAE rejects Sudan’s claim it shot down Emirati plane

Aug 8, 2025, 7:03am EDT
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Members of army walks near a destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings in Sudan.
El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters

Abu Dhabi rejected a claim by the Sudanese army that it had shot down an Emirati plane carrying dozens of Colombian mercenaries.

International observers have accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the Sudanese civil war, a conflict which has displaced millions and triggered the world’s first famine in decades, with hundreds of thousands struggling to survive each day.

Last month, the latest US-brokered attempt to reach a ceasefire collapsed after the UAE and Egypt — which backs the Sudanese army — failed to agree on what role each of the fighting forces would have in ruling the country, Al-Monitor reported.

A chart showing the number of internally displaced people in Sudan.
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