Yale investigator tells MPs UK suppressed Sudan atrocity intelligence to protect UAE ties

Nathaniel Raymond, a human rights investigator at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, is set to testify before the Commons international development committee that the UK government suppressed intelligence linking Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan. Raymond alleges the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) downplayed the death toll of at least 60,000 civilians in El Fasher for political reasons and failed to act on warnings of genocide due to pressure from the UAE.

In testimony scheduled for Tuesday, Raymond will detail how FCDO officials informed him in May 2024 that significant private pressure from the UAE prevented the UK from publicly divulging information linking Ethiopia and the emirates to their support for the paramilitary group. The testimony follows reports regarding the FCDO’s response to the RSF seizing El Fasher, with Raymond alleging the department was more interested in preserving relations with the Emiratis than averting mass atrocities.

Raymond will present evidence based on three years of encrypted messages, internal meeting notes, memos, and phone records. This data includes telecommunications information showing mobile devices moving between Addis Ababa and RSF-held territory, with some devices subsequently moving to Abu Dhabi. HRL believes these movements suggest links to RSF deputy commander Abdul Rahim Dagalo, with one phone travelling from Addis Ababa to Abu Dhabi in four hours, a route not supported by official air traffic data.

A senior FCDO official reportedly contacted Raymond to question if his estimate of 60,000 deaths was too high. Raymond concluded the figure was a political problem for the department, noting that the number did not include deaths from famine or the RSF’s bombardment during the city’s siege. He stated that the actual number of people systematically killed by the RSF after capturing the city could have been higher.

On 26 September 2025, a British UN official expressed despair about the lack of action by the Starmer government as El Fasher was about to fall, amid intelligence indicating mass atrocities were inevitable. HRL secretly shared telecommunications data with the US to support sanctions against Dagalo-linked shell companies, as the UK government could not act due to diplomatic constraints. Details of Ethiopia’s involvement became public in February following a Reuters report that Addis Ababa was hosting a camp to train RSF fighters, a move reportedly backed by the UAE.