An investigative report published by Reuters has revealed new methods and international networks allegedly used to support the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), presenting fresh evidence that, according to the report, implicates the United Arab Emirates in providing logistical support during the campaign that resulted in mass atrocities against civilians in Sudan. The report presents what Reuters describes as documentary and technical evidence indicating the direct transportation and stockpiling of weapons, military equipment, and foreign fighters during the siege of El Fasher. According to Reuters, aircraft leased from an Abu Dhabi-based company owned by a former US Army officer were allegedly used to transport arms, mercenaries, and military supplies to the RSF from Chad, Libya, and Somalia through a network of airports tracked by the agency using multiple investigative methods. Reuters noted that, consistent with its journalistic practice of offering all parties an opportunity to respond, it submitted detailed questions to the UAE. However, the Emirati authorities did not respond. The Reuters investigation, published in mid-July, concluded that companies controlled by Stephen Scholes, a 63-year-old retired US Army Special Forces veteran and head of CADG, operated a fleet of aging but airworthy Boeing aircraft serving key logistical hubs allegedly used by the RSF during the Sudan conflict. According to Reuters, these aircraft connected regional supply routes with territories controlled by the RSF, whose actions in Sudan have been described by the United Nations and international human rights organisations as constituting acts of genocide and other serious international crimes. Reuters found that companies controlled by Scholes operated at least three older Boeing aircraft that flew to principal logistical hubs used by the RSF, a force accused of committing widespread atrocities across Darfur, Al Jazirah, White Nile, Sennar, Kordofan, and Khartoum. The investigation reportedly began with a mysterious Boeing 737 that was destroyed by the Sudanese Armed Forces at Nyala Airport in May 2025, the principal RSF stronghold in Darfur. According to Reuters, the Sudanese military announced at the time that the aircraft had been destroyed on May 3, 2025, because it was supplying the RSF with military equipment. Reuters describes the strike on the Boeing 737—the first aircraft linked by the agency to Scholes—as a significant turning point in the Sudanese conflict that contributed to a major escalation. A source with direct knowledge of the incident told Reuters that 51 RSF members were among the 54 people killed in the strike. According to Reuters, “The aircraft’s captain and ground engineer worked for Occidental Support Services, a company wholly owned by Scholes and registered in the United Arab Emirates,” based on company records and employment documents reviewed by the agency. Reuters further reported that the destruction of the aircraft appeared to have had a major impact on the RSF and its supporters. The day after the strike, the RSF launched a series of drone attacks against Port Sudan, which at the time served as Sudan’s temporary capital during the conflict. Sudan subsequently severed diplomatic relations with the UAE, accusing it of supporting those drone attacks. Reuters identified the aircraft through its distinctive white-and-maroon livery dating from its commercial service. Hours before it was destroyed, satellite imagery showed the aircraft parked inside the military section of N’Djamena International Airport in Chad, in one of the country’s most heavily secured areas, where drones, fighter aircraft, and the Chadian presidential aircraft are typically stationed. Reuters also suggested that Sudanese intelligence had closely monitored the aircraft’s movements. According to the agency, approximately four hours after the aircraft departed N’Djamena, the Sudanese Armed Forces conducted an airstrike that destroyed it at Nyala Airport, then under RSF control. A Western military analyst, citing intelligence sources, told Reuters that this was the aircraft’s fourth flight to Nyala, arriving at approximately 10:00 pm on May 2. The source familiar with the incident stated that, in addition to the 54 fatalities, 57 injured individuals, including an unspecified number of RSF members, were transferred to the Sudanese-Turkish Hospital in Nyala. The military analyst further indicated that at least six senior RSF commanders were among those killed. Those killed reportedly included a pilot from South Sudan, another from Kenya, and a ground engineer from Peru. Reuters reported that the South Sudanese pilot and the Peruvian engineer were employed by Occidental Support Services, Scholes’ UAE-based company, at the time of the flight, according to copies of their employment contracts and commercial registry records reviewed by the agency. Reuters also tracked two Boeing 727 aircraft linked to
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