According to new statistics from the aid organization Swissaid, gold imports between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates grew from 17 tons to 29 tons between 2023 and 2024. The statistics were published at the end of October on the UN database Comtrade, but have since been taken down.
The war in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out in April 2023, has led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions of people displaced from their homes and tens of thousands killed.
The UN and a number of other organizations have repeatedly accused Abu Dhabi of supplying RSF with weapons and drones, something the Gulf state has denied.
In addition to Sudan, the United Arab Emirates also imported 18 tons of gold from Chad and nine tons from Libya – states designated by Swissaid as “transit countries” for RSF-controlled gold.
"These patterns and flows confirm the United Arab Emirates' role as a prominent destination for smuggled Sudanese gold," the aid organization writes.
