Emirates Luxury Ad Sparks Outrage Amid UAE's Alleged Arms Support to Sudan's RSF Forces

A luxurious Emirates business class advertisement has sparked significant online controversy. The airline recently shared a promotional image of its A380 business cabin on X, highlighting premium features such as lie-flat seats, personal minibars, and large entertainment screens. The post was captioned "This is how we do Business," accompanied by halo and cloud emojis.

The timing of this advertisement proved particularly problematic. Emirates' home country, the United Arab Emirates, faces serious allegations of providing weapons to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of committing atrocities in Darfur.

The post quickly attracted numerous angry responses. Commenters flooded the thread with protest messages, with one user sharing "BoycottTheUAE" alongside footage allegedly showing RSF fighters laughing among casualties and destroyed vehicles on a battlefield. Another commenter labeled them "Arab zionists," while many others responded by posting disturbing images from Sudan's conflict zones.

A Wall Street Journal report released Tuesday revealed that US intelligence agencies have detected an increase in arms transfers from the UAE to the RSF. This paramilitary group, accused of genocide in Darfur, reportedly gained momentum following March events when Sudan's army, supported by Iran, Turkey, and Egypt, regained control of Khartoum.

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemeti, who leads the RSF, reportedly maintains strong connections with the UAE. His family's business operations are headquartered in Dubai, a city allegedly serving as a transit point for smuggling gold extracted from RSF-controlled regions in Darfur.

The Sudanese civil war, ongoing for more than two years, began in April 2023 when the Sudanese Army and the RSF, former allies in governing the country, turned against each other amid disagreements over integrating their forces during Sudan's struggling transition to democracy.