Sudan has submitted a request to hold an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the "aggression of the UAE against the Sudanese people" and its support for the Rapid Support Forces in the war they are waging against the army, according to a Sudanese diplomatic official who spoke to AFP on Saturday.

The official, who requested to remain anonymous, said: "Our permanent representative to the United Nations submitted a request yesterday (Friday) for an emergency session of the Security Council to discuss the UAE's aggression against the Sudanese people, and its provision of weapons and equipment to the terrorist militia."

The Sudan News Agency (SUNA) also reported that Khartoum's representative, Harith Idris, submitted the request "in response to the memorandum from the UAE representative to the council," emphasizing that "the UAE's support for the criminal Rapid Support Forces, which launched a war against the state, makes the UAE a partner in all of its crimes."

Tensions have been escalating for months between the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who effectively holds power in the country, and the UAE. The army accuses Abu Dhabi of supporting the Rapid Support Forces and their commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in the conflict that erupted between them in April 2023.

Abu Dhabi rejected these accusations in a letter to the Security Council last week.

It stated that "all claims related to the UAE's involvement in any form of aggression or destabilization in Sudan, or its provision of any military, logistical, financial, or political support to any faction in Sudan are baseless allegations that lack credible evidence to support them," according to the letter published by the UAE Foreign Ministry on its website.

The war in Sudan has resulted in the deaths of thousands and pushed the country, with a population of 48 million, to the brink of famine, devastated its already fragile infrastructure, and caused the displacement of more than 8.5 million people, according to the United Nations.

In December, Sudan requested 15 Emirati diplomats to leave the country after a senior army leader accused Abu Dhabi of supporting the Rapid Support Forces. This coincided with protests in the city of Port Sudan (East) calling for the expulsion of the Emirati ambassador.

In August of last year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Ugandan officials, that weapons were found on an Emirati cargo plane that was supposed to deliver humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad. The UAE denied those reports.