A senior UAE diplomat, in a candid assessment of the Sudan crisis, said that the international community "collectively" failed to stop the 2021 military coup in Sudan, calling it a "critical mistake" that ultimately resulted in the ongoing civil war in the country.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Sunday, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said, "We all made the mistake when the two generals who are fighting the civil war today overthrew the civilian government. That was, in my opinion, looking back, a critical mistake.

"We should have put our foot down, all of us collectively. But it was a time when Sudan was just coming out of American sanctions and we thought, no, let us get Sudan out of the American sanctions. Clearly, what happened later is the relationship of the two generals deteriorated and led Sudan to the current civil war that we are seeing today."

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The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who jointly staged a coup in 2021. However, the power struggle between the two forces unleashed waves of ethnic violence, creating the world's worst humanitarian crisis and plunging several areas into famine. According to Reuters, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and about 13 million displaced.

Dr Gargash reiterated UAE's commitment to the Quad statement, which called for a three-month humanitarian ceasefire, a political approach to peace, and, within nine months, a transitional civilian government.

The "Quad", launched in September 2025, refers to the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, which have formed a group to address the conflict in Sudan.

“Let us take all the fog away and see, are the generals willing to hand over power to a civilian transition? That is really the crux of the question,” said the UAE diplomat.

Addressing a reporter's question, he clarified that the UAE's additional pledge of $100 million in aid to Sudan will be delivered through international and humanitarian organisations. He noted that the UAE is doubling down on its humanitarian efforts in Sudan amid calls for ceasefire.

“This (aid) will go, and we are doubling down on humanitarian support in Sudan. We are doing it through our hospitals in Chad and in South Sudan."

Dr Gargash said the assistance would be delivered through humanitarian channels such as the Red Crescent, the World Food Programme, and various international organisations. He emphasised the need of immediate peace in the war-torn country.

"The sooner that unhindered humanitarian avenues open to support people in Sudan, not only in El Fasher, but in El Fasher and other areas, you will see much more support not only from the UAE but from many countries.

"As we condemn the atrocities in El Fasher, and they deserve condemnation, and they deserve also for us to condemn every other atrocity in Sudan, what will stop it today is a ceasefire ASAP and a path to civilian government," Dr Gargash added.

UAE's envoy to the UN condemned the "heinous attacks against civilians in Al Fasher " on October 30 and announced $100 million in lifesaving humanitarian operations. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab called on the "RSF to ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel", and called on the international community "to ensure that all perpetrators of atrocities are held to account".

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