The British satellite broadcaster Sky is set to part ways with its joint venture with the United Arab Emirates after the channel was accused of whitewashing atrocities in Sudan, according to a report on Wednesday.
Sky News has effectively given notice that it will withdraw Sky News Arabia's license to use its brand next year, The Telegraph reported.
According to the report, Sky executives delivered the news to the UAE's state media business, IMI, late last year and have completed the required legal work for the license to lapse.
It came after Sky News Arabia was accused of whitewashing atrocities carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group backed by the UAE, according to Western intelligence agencies.
In 2023, IMI also attempted to take control of The Telegraph in a partnership with RedBird Capital Partners, a US private equity firm, in a deal that was blocked following an outcry over press freedom.
The Sky's decision to cut ties with IMI will bring to an end a 50-50 partnership that was first agreed upon in 2010.
Sudan has been locked in a bloody conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, killing tens of thousands, displacing 13 million people, and creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to UN reports.
