American rapper calls on UAE to stop fuelling war in Sudan

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who have heard of Sudan because of Macklemore, and those who have heard of Macklemore because of Sudan. (The number who have heard of both is too small to be statistically significant.)

The American rapper announced last week that he had pulled out of a concert in Dubai because of the role the UAE is playing “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis” in Sudan. By doing so, he has brought attention not only to the devastating conflict which has now reached 500 days, but to the way regional powers are arming and supporting the opposing sides.

Military support

Although the UAE denies it, numerous reports – including from the UN – show that it is providing weapons and money to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known for looting and rape. (The RSF grew out of the janjaweed, an Arab militia that terrorised the African people of Darfur 20 years ago.) On the other side, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, is backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The RSF sent a delegation to peace talks convened by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with US backing, in Geneva last week, but General Burhan refused to send anyone, saying instead that they would “fight for 100 years”.

Millions displaced or in need of aid

Back in the 1980s, Henry Kissinger remarked of the Iran/Iraq war: “It’s a pity both sides can’t lose”. Right now in Sudan it’s the Sudanese people who are losing: more than 10 million displaced, 25 million in urgent need of food aid, unknown numbers of women and girls subject to sexual violence, and an increasing number dying from cholera. Until the UAE and other regional powers stop enabling and fomenting this war, the lives of Sudanese will only get worse.

Last weekend, torrential rain destroyed the Arba’at Dam, northwest of Port Sudan. According to the UN, several people were killed and the flood damaged villages, telecommunications networks, roads and power supplies. The reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Port Sudan where many Sudanese have fled, has been drained.

The rain was only the proximate cause of the disaster. The underlying cause was decades of neglect while generations of Sudanese leaders have fought each other and plundered the country’s resources instead of building a functioning state and maintaining infrastructure.

Prey to regional meddling

Since independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced only brief periods of peace and no prosperity. Most has been internal, but its strategic location, bordered by seven countries – Libya, Egypt, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea – mean that it’s always prey to regional meddling.

Aid agencies say Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The people desperately need food, medical supplies and shelter. But what they really need is for regional countries to stop backing the two generals, and to engage in serious peace talks, to force their proxies to stop fighting and start talking.

Celebrities often support aid agencies, but by recognising the role of regional powers in Sudan, Macklemore has done something more significant: he has identified the real cause of the suffering and called for action.