Sky reportedly informed the UAE’s IMI media group late last year of its decision to cut ties [Getty/file photo] The New Arab Staff
Sky has pulled the plug on its joint deal with the UAE-based Sky News Arabia, over concerns the channel was serving as a mouthpiece over the Sudan war. UK media conglomerate Sky is set to terminate a joint venture with the UAE over accusations it was broadcasting genocide denial and propaganda in relation to the war in Sudan, according to reports.
The broadcaster is expected to withdraw Sky News Arabia’s license to use its brand next year, according to The Telegraph, after it was accused of whitewashing human rights abuses carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan in its coverage.
It is believed that Sky executives have grown increasingly concerned with Sky News Arabia’s position on the war in Sudan, ongoing since 2023, and where mass atrocities have taken place, particularly regarding those committed by the RSF paramilitary force, which is allegedly backed by the UAE.
This has led to accusations that the Arabic-language channel has become a mouthpiece for the Gulf state, reportedly green-lighting reports suggesting that there was no evidence on the ground supporting the accusations that the RSF was carrying out brutal acts of violence against civilians in Sudan.
This is despite mass graves of victims of RSF violence being uncovered and testimonies from witnesses speaking about atrocities.
In a move that drew intense backlash, Sky News Arabia sent reporter Tsabih Mubarak Khatir to El-Fasher, one of the main sites of the RSF’s brutality, to carry out on-the-ground coverage. Khatir, however, is allegedly married to a senior official in the RSF’s parallel government, and was filmed hugging a female fighter from the paramilitaries.
The UK media giant informed the UAE’s IMI media group late last year of its decision to pull the plug on the deal, The Telegraph said.
In 2010, Sky News struck a deal with IMI, part of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan's business conglomerate, to launch the 24-hour Arabic-language news channel under the Sky News brand.
Sky News Arabia was subsequently launched in 2012.
In February, the UN said the horrors of El-Fasher, which the RSF captured in October amid a bloody siege, point to genocide.
The UAE has been accused of involvement in the almost three-year-long war in Sudan, which was triggered by a power struggle between the RSF paramilitaries and the Sudanese army.
Since then, Sudan has been plunged into a humanitarian crisis, with mass atrocities occurring across several parts of the country. The RSF has been accused of massacres, rape, starvation, and sexual slavery in Khartoum, El-Fasher in North Darfur, and Kordofan. Thousands of people have been killed, while millions are facing acute hunger and have been displaced.
Throughout the war, the UAE has been accused of providing weapons to the RSF, as well as sending foreign mercenaries to fight on behalf of the paramilitaries.
Last year, Khartoum initiated a legal case against the Gulf country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention due to its alleged fuelling of the conflict.
Amid accusations of Emirati involvement in the war, activists have called for a boycott of the country, advising against travel and holidays there, as well as buying products.
The UAE has continuously denied supporting the RSF or being involved in the conflict.
The New Arab approached Sky News for comment.
