Sky News Arabia coverage of the civil war in Sudan may have contributed to the decision by Sky News to relinquish its stake in the Abu Dhabi-based broadcaster, but experts say that regardless, it was unlikely the sole or decisive factor.Debate over the reason for the move emerged after the UK newspaper The Guardian reported that editorial concerns — particularly over Sky News Arabia reporting on the Sudan conflict — played a role in Sky's decision. According to the report, some Sky executives had grown uncomfortable with coverage that critics claimed downplayed atrocities committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).UK-based Sky News announced on May 31 that it would relinquish its stake in Sky News Arabia, the 24-hour Arabic-language news channel it launched with Emirati partner International Media Investments (IMI) in 2012. Under the agreement, IMI — controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president of the United Arab Emirates — will assume full ownership while retaining the Sky News Arabia brand under a multiyear licensing deal.Public scrutinyThe UAE has faced repeated accusations from United Nations sanctions monitors and rights groups of providing military support to the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2023. Abu Dhabi strongly denies the allegations.It was against this backdrop that Sky News Arabia came to face criticism over its coverage of the conflict and that The Guardian reported on May 31 that concerns over the channel's editorial line on Sudan were among the factors behind Sky's decision to exit the venture.In November, the channel came under scrutiny from Sudanese authorities. That month, Sudan's government, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, banned Sky News Arabia from operating in the country after it aired a report from El Fasher, in North Darfur, portraying the humanitarian and security situation as having stabilized following the city's fall to the RSF in late October. Critics said the report failed to reflect the realities on the ground, contradicting the dire conditions documented by humanitarian groups.Amid a two-year siege, El Fasher, the last SAF stronghold in all of Darfur, had fallen to the RSF, after which more than 6,000 people were killed in a massacre, according to estimates by rights groups. Tens of thousands were forced to flee the city.