Manchester City FC should not be complicit in the Darfur humanitarian crisis

The war in Sudan between the National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was described by the UN as one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory. Since April 2023, millions have been displaced, thousands have been killed, and massive damage was inflicted upon buildings and infrastructure.

External actors have invested heavily in this conflict, with the UAE specifically backing the RSF militia with arms and funds to promote its interests in the country. There is a serious fear that a prominent UAE official might be using his ownership of the Manchester City football club to financially support the RSF militia. This has led to calls for strict scrutiny and accountability.

Formed in 2013 from the remnants of the notorious Janjaweed militia, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was initially tasked with aiding government counterinsurgency campaigns in Darfur and South Kordofan. Their operations gained legal status in 2017, following formal approval by Sudan’s parliament. Since then, the RSF has faced widespread allegations of grave human rights violations – including the torching of villages, killings of protesters, sexual violence, mass executions, arbitrary arrests, and attacks on hospitals, places of worship, and the press. The group has also been accused of committing ethnically targeted violence and recruiting child soldiers.

Emirates of chaos: How the UAE fuels war and walks free

The United Arab Emirates has provided financial and military support to the RSF militia, including a recent supply of foreign combatants. This assistance has substantially expanded since the conflict began. The UAE maintains significant economic and political stakes in Sudan that it anticipates will be protected 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.

Insidiously, the UAE resorted to utilising the Russian Wagner Group to secure the supply of arms to Sudan.

The United Arab Emirates’ financial and military support for the  RSF has had a devastating impact on the country, fueling a brutal campaign that includes massacres and acts of genocide, especially in the Darfur region. UN experts estimate that the RSF has killed around 15,000 members of the Massalit ethnic group in targeted attacks based on ethnicity. In other parts of Darfur, the militia has been accused of widespread atrocities, such as kidnapping and raping women, and executing children; some were reportedly shot while trying to hide. In recent months, the RSF has besieged El Fasher, the last major safe haven for displaced civilians in Darfur, making the humanitarian crisis worse.

A recent report in The New York Times revealed that Mansour Bin Zayed, the UAE’s vice president and owner of the Manchester City football team, has maintained a strong connection with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the RSF militia. Charities under his direct control were used to smuggle drones, weapons, and arms to the militia under the guise of humanitarian aid. During this period, the US intercepted regular phone calls between the two, leading to the conclusion that the sheikh was involved in funding the war in Sudan.

This continuous relationship could be a stark violation of the Premier League clubs’ Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT), which was unanimously amended  in March 2023 to include a Disqualifying Event for human rights abuses, based on the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Given the serious impact of this issue on Sudan’s stability and the lives of millions currently under attack by the RSF militia, organisations like Manchester City and the Premier League are encouraged to urgently investigate this matter.

As I write this article, El Fasher city, the largest refugee shelter in Darfur, is being besieged and repeatedly shelled by the RSF militia using UAE-shipped arms, and millions of civilians, including children, are starving to death. Many experts believe another genocide is imminent; Manchester City FC should not be complicit in prolonging this crisis.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.