By Pascal Ibe
Introduction
In May, Sudan accused neighbouring Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of orchestrating drone strikes on its main airport, describing the assault as “direct aggression”.
The international airport, located in the capital, was hit along with military installations in the Greater Khartoum area.
Drone strikes during that month shattered a period of relative calm in Khartoum, which came after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was pushed out by the Sudanese military last year.
Since then, fingers have continued to point at the UAE for its involvement in the Sudan war.
The current civil war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023, following a brutal power struggle between two rival military leaders: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Claim
A user on the X platform has posted (archived here) an image of people who were massacred and claimed it was an ongoing genocide being committed by the UAE.
The X user, @SankaraDispatch (Pan African Intel), posted the video on Monday, 12 October, and wrote, “The UAE is committing a genocide in Sudan.
“Thousands of innocent people are dying, families are being destroyed, and entire communities are being wiped out so that Sudan’s gold can be looted.
“How many more Sudanese lives must be lost while the world looks away?
“The silence must end. The world must hold those responsible accountable.
“Shout now: Free Sudan! 🇸🇩”
With over 136,000 comments under the post, it showed that the people believe that the image was of the alleged genocide being committed by the UAE.
Verification
First, the X user did not provide details of the image. For instance, where exactly in Sudan the killings happened, when they happened, and other basic details are missing.
This is an indicator that the image may not be from Sudan.
FACTWATCH Nigeria then subjected the image to AI image detection websites, and the results showed that it was 99 per cent AI-generated.
The AI image detection websites like DeepAI, SightEngine and IsThisAI confirmed that the image was created by AI.
At the moment, there are no reputable international news organisations that have shared the image or reported the alleged genocide by the UAE.
Verdict
Findings showed that the image was AI-generated; therefore, it is FALSE.
