UAE signals support for Sudan military amid escalating tensions

In a tweet sent early Wednesday morning, Gargash said that the transition should "carefully calibrate popular aspirations with institutional stability", adding "we have experienced all-out chaos in the region and don't need more of it", in what appeared to be a reference to the Arab Spring.

Since Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was ousted on 11 April following popular protests, the UAE and its ally Saudi Arabia have pledged three billion dollars in aid to the ruling military council.

The military council is locked in a standoff with protesters, who have vowed to continue demonstrations until their demands for a civilian presidential council to oversee a transition to democracy are met.

There are fears that the Sudanese military may use force against protesters and try to establish a military dictatorship on the same model as that of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt.

Prior to his ouster, the UAE and Saudi Arabia supported former President Bashir, who sent Sudanese troops to fight in Yemen.

The two Gulf countries have also thrown their weight behind reactionary military regimes following the Arab Spring.

They have backed the military coup which overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in Egypt in 2013 and recently supported rogue Libyan General Khalifa Haftar in his war against the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord.

Read more: From Egypt to Sudan: Freedom is not a military takeover