Sudan established diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after repeated accusations of Gulf countries of supporting their competitors’ Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The news comes as the RSF was accused of attacks on the normally secure Port of Sudan, which began on Sunday and lasted until Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Sudan’s Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim accused the UAE of violating the country’s sovereignty through its “agent” RSF.

The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations that it is providing financial, military and political support to paramilitary forces.

Two years of conflict killed thousands of people, forcing millions of homes to create the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Sudan will close its diplomatic mission in the Gulf countries as a result of the announcement of the Defense Minister.

Drone strikes have hit the international airport, major power plants and a hotel in Port Sudan since Sunday. The Army accused the RSF of being behind the attack, but the paramilitary group has not commented yet.

Sudanese troops said on Wednesday it foiled a strike at the country's largest naval base.

"They (drone) encountered air defense missiles," an unnamed source told AFP.

So far, the Port of Sudan has avoided bombing and is considered one of the safest places in a war-revelling country.

Sudan's military often accuses the UAE of armed RSF.

Both the United Kingdom and the United States have selected the UAE in separate calls so that external countries can stop supporting the war in Sudan.

However, on Monday, the UN Supreme Court rejected the Sudan case against the UAE, in which it accused the Gulf state of accomplices in genocide.

The International Court of Justice ruled in The Hague that the case could not be carried out because the UAE chose Article 9 of the Genocide Convention, which means other countries cannot be sued for genocide allegations.

UAE Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Reem Ketait said the court's ruling was "clear and decisive".

“The international community must urgently focus on ending this devastating war and supporting the Sudanese people, and it must ask humanitarian assistance to attract everyone in need,” she said.

Both the Army and the RSF are charged with war crimes.

Other reports from Cecilia MacAulay