Demo claiming ‘UK–UAE involvement’ in Sudan war blocks British PM’s residence

Report by Amgad Abdelgadir

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Traffic outside the official residence of the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, at 10 Downing Street in central London ground to a stop on Wednesday evening as pro-Sudan protesters shut down Whitehall, home to several UK Ministries including the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence. Demonstrators later confronted MPs at a nearby restaurant, in a pointed indictment of what they call ‘Britain’s material complicity in atrocities unfolding in Sudan’s besieged city of El Fasher’.

What began as a stationary protest turned into a march to the Foreign Office and then a stand-off outside a restaurant where MPs dined behind glass.

Protesters lifted placards accusing Britain of “funding genocide” through arms sales to the UAE, an alleged backer of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

“We were chanting outside, and we could see them eating through the windows. It was dystopian, honestly. While you’re eating, bombs are dropping, that was the message. Even if they only hear us for a second, they know: we’re demanding a free Sudan,” said an organiser with London for Sudan, who asked not to be named.

“This is the most intense action London for Sudan has taken, and it’s because El Fasher is urgent. There has to be escalation at every level, political, community, fundraising, and media,” the organiser added.

North Darfur’s capital of El Fasher has endured nearly 18-months under siege, with hospitals attacked, food routes cut, and civilians executed. UN agencies warn famine is imminent; Sudanese activists say it has already arrived.

“2,000 people have been killed in just three days. El Fasher is under siege; there’s stage-five famine. People don’t even have energy to cry, tears take energy they don’t have,” said 19-year-old organiser Ziyad Kashan.

“No water, no electricity, no internet. People are being shot as they flee. El Fasher sheltered people who escaped genocide 20 years ago, now they’re facing another genocide,” he stressed.

‘UK complicity’

Rage in Westminster centred on revelations that UK-made weapons have ended up with RSF fighters, routed through the UAE.

“An investigation by The Guardian just showed that a UK weapons manufacturer in Wales had arms ending up with the RSF, routed through the UAE since 2013,” Kashan said.

“The UK has sold £417m in weapons to the UAE despite UN evidence that the UAE backs the RSF. And yet, UK officials still prioritise meetings with UAE leadership. That says everything,” the young protester went on to declare.

Another protester, Waleed Elgadi, said “Enough. Khalas [Arabic for ‘stop’]. Sudanese people have suffered too long. People in Darfur went through this 20 years ago, they’re facing it again. The cycle keeps repeating.”

“If you’re in the UK, you are complicit in this war, not through soldiers, but through funding. The UK even funded RSF units in the past to stop migration to Europe.”

Elgadi, referring to alleged pre-war RSF abuses in Sudan, highlighted their role under the EU-supported Khartoum Process from 2016-2019, where they were tasked with patrolling borders, particularly with Libya, to curb migration.

According to the Forced Migration Review, they often exploited this position for profit, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation, raising concerns that EU funding may inadvertently enable such abuses.

The protest also drew supporters beyond the Sudanese community.

“I’m here as a Palestinian. Sudanese brothers and sisters marched for Gaza, we stand for them too. The genocide in Sudan is no less urgent,” Amro, a Palestinian protester, said.

Speaking about UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Amro declared, “He has turned the UK Labour Party into the ‘genocide party’ and the UK is supplying weapons to regimes committing atrocities across the world in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza.” 

“We will not let Sudan be forgotten,” he vowed.

For organiser Tasneem Farah, the crisis in Sudan underscores the need for international awareness and action.

“Sudan is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. What’s happening in El Fasher, Kordofan, the Nuba Mountains across the country is horrific,” Farah said.

“The UK and UAE are materially complicit, financially, militarily,” she said, adding that they also push narratives that make it easy for people not to care.

“Sudan has collapsed, infrastructure, education, everything,” she emphasised, noting that rebuilding requires real commitment and real resources.

At the protest’s end, the anonymous organiser reflected on why they refused to stay quiet.

“People need to understand what’s happening, not just in El Fasher but across Darfur and Sudan. Our role is to amplify and not let Sudan be forgotten,” the organiser declared.