By Staff, Agencies

Sudan says the UAE banned its aircraft from entering the country after Khartoum shot down an Emirati plane carrying Colombian mercenaries.

The UAE also barred a Sudanese airliner from taking off from Abu Dhabi airport, a Sudanese authority said Thursday.

The flight ban, not yet officially announced by the UAE, marks a significant escalation in the deteriorating relationship between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi.

Sudan's air force on Wednesday destroyed an Emirati aircraft reportedly carrying Colombian mercenaries as it was landing in an airport in Darfur controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Army-aligned state TV reported that the aircraft had taken off from an airbase in the Persian Gulf, carrying dozens of foreign fighters and military equipment intended for the RSF, which controls nearly all of Darfur.

A UAE official told AFP Thursday that the "unfounded allegations" were "entirely false" and not supported by any evidence.

However, Sudan’s army-aligned government said it had positive evidence to prove it.

The Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has repeatedly complained that the United Arab Emirates is sending RSF mercenary troops and advanced weaponry, including drones, via Nyala Airport in Darfur.

The reports of UAE sending weaponry and fighters to Darfur date back to late 2024 and have been confirmed by the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Colombia has expressed regret “for the participation of some of its citizens in the war.”

Colombian mercenaries, many former soldiers and guerrillas, have appeared in other global conflicts and were previously hired by the UAE for operations in Yemen and the Persian Gulf.

In a post on Wednesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he was moving to ban mercenary activity, calling it “a trade in men turned into commodities to kill.”

As fighting continues, thousands of families trapped in the besieged city of el-Fasher are at “risk of starvation”, the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has warned.

An outbreak of cholera in the North Darfur state, of which el-Fasher is the capital, has further added to the misery.

Fighting in Sudan between the two generals running the Army and RSF forces, now in its third year, has left tens of thousands of people dead.

About a fourth of the country’s 50.5 million population has been forced to flee their homes, plunging the country into poverty and starvation.