US diplomat Boulos won't name 'at least 12 countries' involved in Sudan war

Trump adviser does not name UAE, Egypt or Turkey, saying 'we are not here to go into these details' Massad Boulos, senior advisor to the US president on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs, speaks with the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, 21 July 2026 (AFP) Published date: 3 September 2026 16:31 BST | Last update: 3 sec ago US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser on African and Arab affairs has said “at least 12 countries” are involved in the Sudan war but has declined to name them. Massad Boulos, whose son Michael is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa that “all of the neighbouring countries in the region are participating in one way or another, or facilitating certain acts” in the war. “As for the military support, this is done currently by all the neighbouring countries in addition to some other regional actors. This is really very sad,” Boulos said. “We are not going to go into names at this time, but I think they are well known. There are probably at least 12 countries that are in one way or another providing military support,” the Lebanese-born US diplomat said. When asked by reporter Waihiga Mwaura why the United States was not willing to name the countries supplying the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Boulos said there was “no hesitation” and returned to talking about Washington’s plan to apply an arms embargo to Sudan. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters There is currently a UN arms embargo on Darfur, the vast western region of Sudan that serves as the RSF’s powerbase and which was where the paramilitary’s forerunner, the Janjaweed militias, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of civilians in the first decade of this century. The embargo has been in place for more than 20 years but is set to expire on 12 September. Middle East Eye understands that UN Security Council members received the final report from the UN Panel of Experts on 13 July and that this report contains further evidence that the United Arab Emirates has violated the embargo. UAE involvement in Sudan The UAE has consistently denied supporting the RSF throughout the Sudan war, which began in April 2023 and has led to the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. But UN experts, human rights groups and Middle East Eye have all reported extensively on Emirati support for the Sudanese paramilitary, which is led by former Janjaweed leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and has been widely accused of committing genocide in Darfur. Weapons serial numbers, flight tracking logs, military hardware recovered from the battlefield and a wide array of sources all attest to the UAE’s support for the RSF, which is most usually routed through Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, and Somaliland. Exclusive: The Ethiopian army base covertly supporting Sudan’s RSF Read More » MEE also understands that the Panel of Experts report adds detail to already widely reported accusations relating to Colombian mercenaries contracted by the UAE to fight for the RSF in Sudan. Asked about the UAE, Boulos said he met with the Emiratis regularly, including last week. “Their position is that they deny any direct involvement,” he said, of Emirati support for the RSF. “There might be some traders or whatever that are doing these sorts of supplies, providing supplies to both sides, but again we are not here to go into these details.” While the UAE backs the RSF, Egypt and Turkey are the primary military backers of the SAF. Turkish sources have confirmed to MEE that their country is supplying the Sudanese army with drones, ammunition and air defence systems. Turkish drone operators have been on the ground in Sudan, and Turkey has, alongside Egypt, bombed convoys supplying the RSF in the triangle border region that includes remote desert areas of Sudan, Libya and Egypt. Boulos told the BBC that a nationwide arms embargo in Sudan would ban the sale, transfer or supply of weapons and military equipment to all sides of the conflict. “We have to act, we have to do something about it and that’s why I talked to the members of the Security Council about it, Boulos said, though he sounded less confident about the UNSC passing a resolution on a nationwide embargo – Russia has used its veto to block similar efforts. The US diplomat said that his call for an arms embargo came “in the context of the increasing levels of military support that we have seen to both warring parties in the recent weeks and months. There’s a tremendous increase to both sides.” Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.