25/06/2026 20:37 - Internacionales
On Tuesday, June 24, 2026, Nathaniel Raymond, director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University, will testify before the International Development Committee of the UK House of Commons. His testimony will reveal how the British government received intelligence about the support of Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, but decided to hide this information for fear of damaging diplomatic relations.
In October 2025, the RSF captured the city of El Fasher in Darfur after an 18-month siege. The United Nations described the events as bearing "the marks of genocide."
Chilling figures: At least 60,000 civilians were systematically massacred by the RSF after the city's capture. This figure does not include deaths from famine or bombings during the siege.
Raymond privately informed the parliamentary committee about this figure, but an FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) official attempted to downplay the number for "political" reasons.
Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab tracked mobile phones moving between Addis Ababa (Ethiopia's capital) and RSF-controlled territories in Sudan.
Some devices traveled from RSF locations to addresses in the United Arab Emirates, linked to shell companies related to Abdul Rahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the RSF and brother of leader Hemedti.
Key finding: A phone traveled from Addis Ababa to Abu Dhabi in just 4 hours, with no commercial flights or official air traffic matching that route, evidencing deliberate attempts to evade detection.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 2024 | Raymond meets with FCDO officials in London and shares mobile phone data showing connections between Ethiopia and the RSF. Officials inform him that the UK faces "significant private pressures" from the UAE that limit its ability to act. |
| September 26, 2025 | A British official at the UN "expressed despair" over the lack of possible action by the Starmer government while El Fasher was about to fall, given intelligence indicating mass atrocities were inevitable. |
| October 2025 | RSF captures El Fasher after 18 months of siege. The massacre of at least 60,000 civilians occurs. |
| February 2026 | Reuters reports that Addis Ababa hosts a training camp for RSF fighters, backed by its close ally, the UAE. Ethiopia and UAE deny the accusations. |
According to Raymond's testimony, FCDO officials asked him to publicly release phone data analyses linking facilities in the UAE to the RSF, because the British government could not do so.
"They told me the UK faced significant private pressures behind the scenes from the UAE, limiting its ability to affect the situation. FCDO staff suggested that HRL releasing this information could help neutralize these UAE efforts to prevent the UK from linking them to arming the RSF."
The UK holds the position of "penholder" (lead country) on Sudan at the UN Security Council, meaning its role was vital for any international action.
"The UK was our best hope at that moment to stop what we believed would become one of the largest mass casualty events of the 21st century."
Raymond will argue that the FCDO prioritized the British government's economic, security, and diplomatic relations with the UAE over preventing the intentional famine and genocidal massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in El Fasher.
Jennifer Chapman, Development Minister, responded to the revelations:
"I would be surprised if it were as simple as that, and I think there are many countries playing games in Sudan."
She also criticized the lack of media coverage of the Sudanese conflict:
"It's an outrage. It doesn't have anywhere near the visibility it needs until something like El Fasher happens, and then suddenly there's momentary interest. The invisibility of this conflict is creating a permissive culture for these external actors to feel they can do this and face no consequences."
The RSF is a paramilitary force that emerged from the notorious Janjaweed militias, responsible for atrocities in Darfur in the 2000s. Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir deployed them in 2019 to suppress pro-democracy protests during the Sudanese revolution that led to his downfall.
In 2023, an uneasy alliance between Hemedti (RSF leader) and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Sudanese army general) collapsed, triggering a devastating civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Conflict statistics:
Sources: The Guardian, Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab, Reuters, United Nations
Alfredo S. Quiroga
