Riyadh has condemned “criminal” attacks by Doctors Without Borders in Kordofan, blaming foreign fighters and weapons for fueling Sudan’s three-year conflict.

Saudi Arabia reiterates support for Sudan’s territorial unity and integrity, condemns ‘criminal attacks’ by paramilitary forces rapid support force (Reporters Without Borders) Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed in North and South Kordofan states.

In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry condemned “foreign interference” in Sudan from “some quarters”, including a “continuous influx of illegal weapons, mercenaries and foreign fighters” to prolong the nearly three-year war.

However, the statement did not specify the parties involved.

A day earlier, the Sudanese Doctors Network, a humanitarian organization, said that a drone from Doctors Without Borders attacked a vehicle transporting displaced families in North Kordofan state, killing at least 24 people, including eight children.

The attack follows a series of drone attacks on humanitarian aid convoys and fuel trucks across the country. north kordofanincluding an attack on a World Food Program convoy on Friday that left at least one person dead.

Fighting between Médecins Sans Frontières and Sudanese forces has intensified across Kordofan in recent months since El Fasher fell to paramilitary groups in October. The nearly three-year conflict has killed about 40,000 people and pushed more than 21 million people, nearly half of Sudan’s population, into severe food shortages.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the deadly attack by Reporters Without Borders was “completely unjustified and a blatant violation of all humanitarian norms and relevant international agreements.”

The ministry demanded that “Doctors Without Borders immediately cease these violations and comply with its moral and humanitarian obligations to ensure the delivery of relief assistance to those in need in accordance with international humanitarian law and the ceasefire agreement reached by the warring parties in Jeddah in 2023.”

It added that “some political parties” are exacerbating the conflict by sending weapons and fighters, even though “these parties claim to support a political solution in Sudan”.

The statement comes as the Sudanese government accuses the United Arab Emirates of having been arming and funding Doctors Without Borders. Sudan filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice last year, accusing it of participating in the “genocide” perpetrated by Armed Forces Without Borders against the Masalit community in West Darfur.

The UAE denies the accusations.

Separately, Saudi Arabia accuses the UAE of supporting Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). The STC, originally part of the Saudi-backed internationally recognized Yemeni government, launched a major offensive in the country’s Hadramawt and Al-Mahra provinces in December last year, seeking to establish an independent state.

The offensive has divided Yemen’s internationally-backed government and prompted Saudi Arabia to launch a deadly attack on a strategic technology hub.

The UAE withdrew its troops from Yemen and expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s security following the Saudi accusations.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are members of the Arab military alliance formed to fight the Houthis, who took full control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2015.