SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - SPECIAL REPORT: Abandoned by the UAE, Sudan's Bashir was destined to fall
Reuters’ investigation revealed that Omar Al Bashir’s failure to fulfil his promise to the UAE that he will weed out Islamists led to the coup against him.
In June 2017, Al Bashir sacked Taha Osman Al Hussein for taking Saudi citizenship, a “blow” to the UAE. Al Hussein, the director of his office, was tasked with handling Sudan’s relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Sudanese government ministers said “Hussein effectively controlled foreign policy.”
Al Bashir’s refusal to join the Saudi-Emirati campaign against Qatar, or dismiss powerful Islamists meant that Saudi Arabia and the UAE did not send aid to Sudan as its economic crisis worsened at the end of 2018.
The UAE and National Intelligence and Security Service chief Salah Gosh engaged with Sudanese rebels, dissidents and political opponents on post-Bashir plans. Al Bashir rejected a UAE-Gosh proposal for a “dignified” exit, after which Gosh orchestrated the coup.