Sudan's army-backed government accused on Monday the paramilitaries it is fighting of launching drones assembled in the United Arab Emirates from neighbouring Chad.
"Investigations show these drones are being assembled in the UAE and launched from Chad near the Sudanese border," Foreign Minister Ali Youssef told reporters in Port Sudan.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
At Monday's press conference, the Sudanese military showed images of drones and rockets, which it said were launched last month from an airport and a border area in Chad.
Fomenting conflict
It said they were launched toward Sudan's North Darfur state capital of El-Fasher, as well as the capital Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of the border.
Last year, United Nations experts tasked with monitoring an arms embargo on Darfur said accusations that the UAE had funnelled weapons to the RSF through Chad were "credible."
The UAE has repeatedly denied supporting the RSF.
In June, Sudan's UN ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith openly accused the UAE of fomenting conflict in his country, saying the RSF was being "supported with weapons by the Emirates."
'Ludicrous'
The Emirati envoy to the United Nations, Mohamed Issa Hamad Mohamed Abushahab, rejected the claims as "ludicrous" and accused the Sudan of using the council to plead the army's case.
The war in Sudan has killed thousands of people and displaced over 11 million more.
It has also pushed the country to the brink of famine, while analysts warn involvement from other countries will only prolong the country's suffering.
Khalid Aleisir, Sudan's media minister and government spokesperson, said on Monday "the war has taken a dangerous turn with the involvement of Chad."
'Direct assault'
"We as the Sudanese government consider this a direct assault from the UAE and Chad on Sudan and its people."
Both the army and the paramilitaries have been accused of war crimes over the course of the war, including targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas.
The RSF has been accused of atrocities including ethnic cleansing, summary killings and rampant looting.
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