Washington (Somalia Today) — US President Donald Trump has pledged to intervene in Sudan’s brutal civil war after a direct appeal from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a move that exposes deepening rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the future of the country.
Trump’s promise, delivered in Washington on November 19, signals a new phase in the Saudi-UAE power struggle playing out through Sudan’s conflict.
“His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan. It was not on my charts to be involved in that,” Trump told delegates at a US-Saudi investment forum at the Kennedy Center.
He said the war had not been a priority until the crown prince pressed him. Trump later described Sudan as “the most violent place on Earth” and “the single biggest humanitarian crisis” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said he now planned to “start working on Sudan”, confirming an earlier report that Riyadh had been preparing to lobby him for direct US intervention.
Saudi bid to sway Washington
According to people briefed on the discussions, Mohammed bin Salman’s outreach is driven by mounting frustration over the UAE’s alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF is a powerful Sudanese paramilitary group locked in a devastating war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Middle East Eye reported that the Saudi crown prince had told SAF commander Abdul Fattah al-Burhan he would raise the issue at the highest level in Washington. He argued that the conflict would not end without firm US pressure on Abu Dhabi.
A western official familiar with the plans said Mohammed bin Salman “sees an opportunity to drive a wedge between Trump and MBZ”, referring to Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have grown in recent years as the Gulf powers have competed over oil policy, regional influence, and security roles from Yemen to the Horn of Africa.
Sudan has now become another arena for that rivalry. Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a mediator while quietly favouring the regular army, according to Sudanese and Western sources.
Saudi officials have publicly insisted that Riyadh’s only goal is to end the war and support a political transition. However, diplomats say the kingdom views the SAF, despite its own record of abuses, as a more predictable partner than the RSF.
The RSF’s roots lie in the Janjaweed militias accused of atrocities in Darfur.
UAE under growing pressure
Following the initial Middle East Eye report, there were growing signs that Washington’s patience with Abu Dhabi was wearing thin. An Arab diplomat in the region said the UAE expected that Mohammed bin Salman’s Washington visit would trigger “more direct and uncomfortable conversations” about its role.
Without naming the UAE, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised the RSF’s foreign backers in unusually blunt terms.
“They do not have manufacturing capabilities. Someone’s giving them the money and someone’s giving them the weapon, and it’s coming through some country,” he said.
“We know who they are, and we’re going to talk to them about it and make them understand that this is going to reflect poorly on them.”
The UAE has repeatedly denied arming the RSF, insisting it supports diplomatic efforts and humanitarian relief. Yet investigations by rights groups and media outlets have fuelled calls for greater scrutiny of Abu Dhabi’s role.
For Trump, the sharpening Saudi-UAE rivalry in Sudan has turned a distant war into a test of his relationships with two of Washington’s most important Gulf partners.
His promise to do “something very powerful” has raised expectations in Riyadh and Khartoum. US officials have yet to spell out what concrete measures are under consideration.
Diplomats say Washington’s options could range from targeted sanctions and restrictions on arms transfers to quiet pressure on Abu Dhabi. The aim would be to push the UAE to cut any covert military support and back a ceasefire.
Any move that publicly singles out the UAE, however, would risk a rift with a long-standing security ally that hosts key US military facilities.
Brutal war grinds on
Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the SAF, led by Burhan, and the RSF, led by former Janjaweed commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, spiralled into open combat. Fighting spread from the capital Khartoum across much of the country.
Since then, aid agencies say, the war has killed thousands and forced millions from their homes. It has turned entire neighbourhoods into rubble, and agencies now warn that several regions risk famine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Sudan now faces an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, with more than half the population needing assistance.
Rights groups have accused the RSF and allied militias of massacres, widespread sexual violence, and ethnic killings, particularly in Darfur. They have also documented indiscriminate shelling and air strikes by the SAF.
Saudi Arabia, working alongside the United States, has hosted intermittent talks in Jeddah aimed at securing a ceasefire and humanitarian access. Every attempt has quickly collapsed, as both the SAF and RSF have sought battlefield gains while negotiators haggled over terms.
By tying himself more closely to Mohammed bin Salman’s Sudan strategy, Trump has inserted the United States more directly into a complex proxy battle in the Horn of Africa.
Supporters argue that only Washington has the leverage to push Abu Dhabi and Khartoum toward compromise. Critics warn that if US pressure is poorly calibrated, it could deepen divisions among Gulf powers and prolong a war that has already pushed Sudan to the brink.
As the humanitarian crisis worsens, diplomats say the coming months will show whether Trump’s promise of a “very powerful” intervention amounts to sustained US engagement or a brief moment of political theatre on the conference stage in Washington.
