Sudan's war is between two visions of the country's future

Since Sudan’s devastating civil war erupted in April 2023, pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the country has fallen back into a cycle of violence and institutional collapse after a fleeting period of hope for political transition.

Sudan now faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, while regional and international actors put forward competing visions for the country’s future. Throughout this turbulence, the UAE has maintained one of the clearest and most consistent positions: a firm commitment to protecting civilians, rejecting violations by all parties and opposing the return of the Muslim Brotherhood to Sudan’s political arena. At the heart of the UAE’s approach is the belief that Sudan’s recovery depends on a credible, civilian-led political order capable of rebuilding the state on solid foundations.

UAE calls for urgent humanitarian truce and unified international push to end Sudan conflict 00:53

From the early days of the conflict, the UAE’s statements, both domestically and at the UN, expressed deep concern about widespread abuses in Khartoum, Darfur, El Fasher and across the country. Abu Dhabi has repeatedly stressed that the protection of civilians is a moral and legal imperative that supersedes all political considerations.

The Emirates has condemned attacks on residential neighbourhoods, hospitals and critical infrastructure, describing them as clear violations of international humanitarian law. The UAE has also insisted that any actor – whether the army, the RSF or other armed groups – must bear responsibility for such actions. It has consistently called for immediate humanitarian corridors and a comprehensive ceasefire to prevent famine and the collapse of basic services.

This humanitarian stance is inseparable from the UAE’s assessment of Sudan’s political trajectory. For decades, the networks of the Muslim Brotherhood have played a central role in hollowing out the Sudanese state. The 1989 coup that elevated Omar Al Bashir – engineered by the National Islamic Front – ushered in a systematic restructuring of state institutions, the politicisation of the military and security services and the entrenchment of ideological patronage networks throughout the economy. These policies fractured institutions, fuelled successive civil wars and left Sudan unable to sustain genuine political stability.

For Abu Dhabi, attempts by the Brotherhood to re-enter the political scene today by capitalising on the current chaos pose a strategic threat – not only to Sudan but to the wider region. Allowing such groups to shape the future would recreate the very conditions that led to Sudan’s collapse in the first place. This is why the UAE maintains that extremist organisations tied to the Brotherhood cannot be part of any future political arrangement, and that empowering them would only guarantee further cycles of conflict.

For Abu Dhabi, attempts by the Brotherhood to re-enter the political scene by capitalising on the current chaos pose a strategic threat – not only to Sudan but to the wider re