Sudan military commander threatens to target Chad airports over UAE interference in conflict

A senior Sudanese military commander has warned that airports in Chad could be considered legitimate military targets amid continued accusations of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) interference in the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

Speaking at a condolence ceremony for a military officer in the eastern Sudanese town of Gadaref, Yasir Al-Atta – assistant commander-in-chief of the army and member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council – said: “We will take retaliatory action against the UAE, the corrupt centres of influence in South Sudan, and we will take retaliatory action against Mohamed Kaka, the president of Chad.”

“We warn him that the [Chadian] airports of N’Djamena and Amdjarass are legitimate targets for the Sudanese Armed Forces”, he continued, adding that “we know what we are saying, and our words are not a joke at all, nor are they spoken lightly.”

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The commander’s warnings, which were aired on Sunday, come as Khartoum and the Sudanese military continue to accuse the UAE of supporting the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s ongoing conflict, assisting the group through arms supplies and aid. A primary avenue of that assistance has reportedly been neighbouring Chad, with its airports implicated in the deliveries of such arms.

“We will pursue everyone who fought against our nation from West Africa, South Sudan and Libya, as well as the main supporter of this war, which is the UAE, led by Mohammed Bin Zayed, the devil of the Arabs,” stressed Al-Atta.

Chad’s Foreign Ministry said Al-Atta’s words were a “declaration of war” and said that it would respond according to international law if a “square metre of Chadian territory is threatened.”

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