How conflict-torn Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from the troubled Sahel

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A grab from a UGC video posted on the X platform on August 22, 2023 reportedly shows members of the Sudanese army firing at Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters in what they say is the al-Shajara military base in Khartoum. (AFP/File)
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Updated 05 November 2023
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How conflict-torn Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from the troubled Sahel

  • Fighters from Chad, the Central African Republic, and Libya have flocked to join the Sudan conflict
  • Battlefield gains for the RSF and setbacks for the SAF could change the calculus of peace talks

TUNIS: With fighting in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas sending shockwaves through the region, wars elsewhere in the world — particularly in Sudan — are in danger of being overlooked altogether.

For more than six months, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, has raged across Sudan, leading to mass displacement, shortages of food and medicine, and even cases of ethnic cleansing.

Saudi Arabia and the US have resumed joint efforts in Jeddah to get the feuding parties to reach a settlement after several ceasefires collapsed in recent months. However, the conflict is complicated by the porous borders and instability that characterize the wider region.

Experts say that Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from across Africa’s Sahel — a belt of territory between the Sahara Desert to the north and the savannas and tropical forests to the south, spanning 12 African nations, from Mali in the west to Sudan in the east.




Sudan's conflict has displaced about 6 million people have been forcibly displaced both internally and across international borders, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. (AFP/File)

The result of this influx of young men, many driven to desperation by other conflicts and lost livelihoods in their own countries, has potentially significant implications for the security dynamics of the wider African continent, the Middle East, and beyond.

“These forces are not fighting for a cause, but simply for a paycheck, which means they have no regard for civilian life or property,” Cameron Hudson, a senior associate of the Africa Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Arab News.

The Sahel, home to about 135 million people, has a semi-arid climate and is characterized by seasonal rainfall and drought-prone conditions. Though rich in minerals, it grapples with extreme poverty, primarily because of poor leadership, corruption and geopolitical factors.

A rash of military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and more recently Niger, combined with long-running insurgencies orchestrated by Islamist militant groups affiliated with Daesh and Al-Qaeda, have led to further destabilization.




Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from across Africa’s Sahel, say experts. (AFP/file photo)

With the regional economies in no shape to create jobs for a booming youth population, the Sahel is increasingly a source of recruits — both willing and unwilling — to cater for a multitude of conflicts, to say nothing of endemic violence, small-arms proliferation and violent extremism.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many fighters from Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya and Sudan’s Darfur region have converged on the devastated Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to join the RSF’s ranks.

On Saturday the RSF claimed to have taken control of the army headquarters in West Darfur’s capital, El-Geneina. The group now wields significant influence in Darfur, where it seized control of Nyala, Sudan’s second largest city, on Oct. 26 and an army base in Zalingei on Oct. 30.




In this still image from a video posted on social media by Sudan's RSF, fighters of the paramilitary group celebrate their supposed liberation of El Geneina in West Darfur state. (X: @RSFSudan)

Around the same time, the RSF seized control of the airport of Balila oilfield in the state of West Kordofan. It also has influence in Al-Jazirah, a state south of Khartoum, and in the far southeastern state of Blue Nile.

The capture of territory, resources and spaces to train new recruits stands to strengthen the RSF. But in order to further extend its grip across the country, it will require additional manpower.

“The paramilitary is clearly trying to expand the scope of this conflict into areas not under its control and the fighting has not yet occurred,” Hudson said. “To do that, they need added forces and an influx of weapons.”

Sudan has been in the throes of internal strife since April 15 when fighting broke out between the SAF, led by the country’s de-facto military ruler, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and his deputy-turned-rival Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo’s RSF.

To date, the conflict has claimed more than 9,000 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, or ACLED, a nonprofit.

Civilians are bearing the brunt of the crisis, with many caught in the crossfire, targeted for their ethnicity, robbed, raped or dying as a result of food shortages and lack of access to medical assistance. Both sides accuse the other of abuses and of blocking humanitarian access. 

According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, about 6 million people have been forcibly displaced both internally and across international borders into neighboring Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia since the conflict began.

The RSF is a complex coalition of state-sponsored militias, local armed groups and foreign mercenaries. Its core consists of nomadic Arabs from Sudan’s west, supplemented by Chadian Arab and non-Arab auxiliaries from the Sahel and Sahara regions.

Groups from Sudan’s far west, such as the RSF-aligned Tamazuj, or Third Front, have joined the fray. The stated aim of the Tamazui, which consists primarily of Arabs from Darfur and Kordofan, is to end their perceived marginalization.

However, this rough tribal coalition is far from united as, throughout the ages, local Arab tribes have often been at loggerheads over power and ownership of resources.

Ideologically, “the RSF lacks a clear, unifying political program,” Reem Abbas, a Sudanese author and political analyst, told Arab News. 

“Motivations range from ethnic grievances to a desire for regime change, and some fighters are drawn by the charismatic leadership of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Others fight out of sheer necessity, seeing no alternative livelihoods other than as soldiers for hire.”




Sudan's RSF paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo addresses his fighters at an undisclosed location in this still image from a handout video posted on social media. (X; @RSFSudan)

While the flow of fighters currently travels from west to east into Sudan’s urban core, this could change if the RSF’s military efforts stall in central Sudan. In one possible scenario, fighters may return to their villages, leading to more inter-tribal conflicts and radicalization.

“Sudan will be faced with the prospect of thousands of unemployed mercenaries left in the country, preying on populations to sustain themselves,” Hudson said. “This return to warlordism could well keep Sudan’s peripheral regions mired in conflicts for years to come.”

According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones have been delivered by a neighboring country to the SAF, while its soldiers are undergoing training abroad to improve their handling of the unmanned aerial vehicles.




Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones are reportedly being used by the Sudan Armed Forces as they battle the paramilitary RSF. (AFP/File)

It quoted ACLED as saying that military airstrikes have inflicted significant damage on RSF facilities and weapon warehouses around Khartoum since late August.

The SAF, meanwhile, faces recruitment problems of its own. Its commander, Al-Burhan, has called on the Sudanese youth to join the army “to counter internal and external threats” in a bid to turn the tide of war.

On the international stage, he has undertaken visits to Egypt, South Sudan, Qatar, Eritrea, Turkiye and Uganda, as well as the UN General Assembly in New York in September, to rally support.

Sudan’s recent announcement of the renewal of diplomatic ties with Iran underscores Al-Burhan’s pursuit of resources and weapons amid persistent concerns about his legitimacy to rule.

But as long as the war and the attendant humanitarian crisis in Gaza rivet international attention, appeals to stem the flow of funding, weapons and fighters to Sudan’s warring factions will likely go unheard, with potentially serious consequences down the line.


Kurds to push for federal system in post-Assad Syria

Updated 4 sec ago
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Kurds to push for federal system in post-Assad Syria

QAMISHLI: Syrian Kurds are set to demand a federal system in post-Assad Syria that would allow regional autonomy and security forces, a senior Kurdish official told Reuters, doubling down on a decentralized vision opposed by the interim president. The demand for federal rule has gathered momentum as alarm spread through Syria’s minorities over last month’s mass killings of Alawites, while Kurdish groups have accused interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and his Islamist group of setting the wrong course for the new Syria and monopolising power.
Rival Syrian Kurdish parties, including the dominant faction in the Kurdish-run northeast, agreed on a common political vision — including federalism — last month, Kurdish sources said. They have yet to officially unveil it. Kurdish-led groups took control of roughly a quarter of Syrian territory during the 14-year civil war. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US, last month signed a deal with Damascus on merging Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government.
While committed to that deal, Kurdish officials have objected to the way Syria’s governing Islamists are shaping the transition from Bashar Assad’s rule, saying they are failing to respect Syria’s diversity despite promises of inclusivity.
Badran Jia Kurd, a senior official in the Kurdish-led administration, told Reuters that all Kurdish factions had agreed on a “common political vision” which emphasizes the need for “a federal, pluralistic, democratic parliamentary system.”
His written statements in response to questions from Reuters mark the first time an official from the Kurdish-led administration has confirmed the federalism goal since the Kurdish parties agreed on it last month.
The Kurdish-led administration has for years steered clear of the word “federalism” in describing its goals, instead calling for decentralization. Syria’s Kurds say their goal is autonomy within Syria — not independence.
Sharaa has declared his opposition to a federal system, telling The Economist in January that it does not have popular acceptance and is not in Syria’s best interests.
The Kurds, mainly Sunni Muslims, speak a language related to Farsi and live mostly in a mountainous region straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkiye. In Iraq, they have their own parliament, government and security forces.
Jia Kurd said the fundamental issue for Syria was “to preserve the administrative, political, and cultural specificity of each region” which would require “local legislative councils within the region, executive bodies to manage the region’s affairs, and internal security forces affiliated with them.”
This should be set out in Syria’s constitutional framework, he added.
Neighbouring Turkiye, an ally of Sharaa, sees Syria’s main Kurdish group, the Democratic Union Party, and its affiliates as a security threat because of their links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which, until a recently declared ceasefire, fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Last month’s meeting brought the PYD together with the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), a rival Syrian Kurdish group established with backing from one of Iraq’s main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) led by the Barzani family. The KDP has good ties with Turkiye.
ENKS leader Suleiman Oso said he expected the joint Kurdish vision to be announced at a conference by the end of April. He said developments in Syria since Assad’s ouster in December had led many Syrians to see the federal system as the “optimal solution.” He cited attacks on Alawites, resistance to central rule within the Druze minority, and the new government’s constitutional declaration, which the Kurdish-led administration said was at odds with Syria’s diversity.
Hundreds of Alawites were killed in western Syria in March in revenge attacks which began after Islamist-led authorities said their security forces came under attack by militants loyal to Assad, an Alawite. Sharaa, an Al-Qaeda leader before he cut ties to the group in 2016, has said those responsible will be punished, including his own allies if necessary. The constitutional declaration gave him broad powers, enshrined Islamic law as the main source of legislation, and declared Arabic as Syria’s official language, with no mention of Kurdish.
“We believe that the optimal solution to preserve Syria’s unity is a federal system, as Syria is a country of multiple ethnicities, religions, and sects,” said Oso.
“When we go to Damascus, we will certainly present our views and demands.”

UAE and India strengthen ties with 8 new cooperation agreements

Updated 4 min 25 sec ago
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UAE and India strengthen ties with 8 new cooperation agreements

MUMBAI: The UAE and India signed eight Memorandums of Understanding on Thursday across a broad range of sectors including infrastructure, healthcare, higher education, logistics and maritime services.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Dubai’s crown prince and UAE defense minister, and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal witnessed the signing at an event organized by Dubai Chambers in Mumbai.

Sheikh Hamdan, who is on his first official visit to India, said the two nations were “bound by a deep-rooted friendship and a shared dedication to shaping the future through innovation, opportunity, and sustainable growth.”

He added they “continue to build on a strong foundation of trust and collaboration,” guided by the vision of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

“These MoUs broaden and deepen our strategic partnership in line with our mutual commitment to creating resilient economies, empowering communities, and advancing knowledge, technology and human development. Together, we are advancing a model of international cooperation that delivers real impact and long-term benefits for the people of our two countries,” said Sheikh Hamdan.

Dubai Chambers signed three MoUs with leading Indian business bodies — the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Indian Merchants’ Chamber — to support mutual market expansion, facilitate networking and promote participation in trade missions and exhibitions.

The agreements aim to boost information-sharing and enhance bilateral trade.

DP World signed two MoUs — one with Rail India Technical and Economic Service to develop advanced, tech-enabled supply chains and multimodal logistics infrastructure through the UAE-India Virtual Trade Corridor, and another between Drydocks World and Cochin Shipyard to jointly develop ship repair clusters in Kochi and Vadinar.

In the education sector, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to establish a new campus in Dubai. The facility will initially open in Dubai International Academic City, with plans for a permanent campus by 2029.

Healthcare collaboration was also a major focus. Dubai Health and key business figures from both countries signed an MoU to establish the UAE-India Friendship Hospital in Dubai, a philanthropic project offering inclusive healthcare services.

Additionally, Dubai Medical University and the All India Institute of Medical Science signed a cooperation agreement to facilitate joint research, academic exchange and collaboration in digital health and artificial intelligence applications in medicine.

Sheikh Hamdan said the continued growth in trade, investment and cooperation between the UAE and India highlighted the “strategic depth of the relationship” and the “vast potential” of their collaboration.

He added: “We look forward to accelerating progress in sectors that matter most for our collective future, building on the strong momentum we have achieved through frameworks like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the Bilateral Investment Treaty.”


UAE mediates prisoner exchange between US and Russia in Abu Dhabi

Updated 25 min 23 sec ago
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UAE mediates prisoner exchange between US and Russia in Abu Dhabi

  • UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitated the exchange of one Russian citizen for one US citizen
  • It is the second swap since President Donald Trump returned to office as Moscow and Washington push for closer ties

LONDON: The UAE mediated a prisoner exchange between Russia and the US on Thursday, which took place on its soil in Abu Dhabi.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitated the exchange of one Russian citizen for one US citizen, with representatives from both countries present in Abu Dhabi.
The ministry expressed appreciation for the confidence placed in the UAE by the American and Russian governments in designating Abu Dhabi as the location for the prisoner exchange process, WAM reported.
It added that “choosing Abu Dhabi for the prisoner exchange process reflects the close friendship ties of both countries with the UAE.”
Abu Dhabi hopes these efforts will de-escalate tensions and enhance dialogue, contributing to regional and international security and stability, WAM added.
It is the second swap since President Donald Trump returned to the White House as Russia and the US push for closer ties.
Moscow released US-Russian ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina, who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison on treason charges, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirming early Thursday she was on a plane to the United States.
In exchange, the United States released Arthur Petrov, a Russian-German citizen who had been facing up to 20 years in a US prison for violating export controls and who was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at Washington’s request for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
Abu Dhabi airport
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was present at the Abu Dhabi airport, where the exchange took place on Thursday, the AFP reported.
A CIA spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that “the exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship.”
“While we are disappointed that other Americans remain wrongfully detained in Russia, we see this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release,” she said.
Russia has yet to confirm the swap, which would be the second since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have since pushed for a restoration of closer ties between the two countries that were severely damaged by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several meetings between the two sides have taken place, with a new round of talks beginning Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of the embassy operations that were scaled back following the Ukraine invasion.
Who are the prisoners?
Karelina, who was born in 1991 and lived in Los Angeles, was serving a 12-year prison sentence for having donated around $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity.
She was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in January 2024 while on a trip to visit her family. She was charged with “treason.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service accused her of collecting funds for Ukraine’s army that were used to purchase “equipment, weapons and ammunition” — charges she denied. Her supporters say she donated to a US-based organization that delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Petrov was accused by US authorities of illegally exporting electronic components to Russia for military use, in violation of Washington’s sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
In mid-February, following a call between Putin and Trump, Russia released Kalob Wayne Byers, a 28-year-old US citizen who was arrested at a Moscow airport for transporting cannabis treats.
Washington and Moscow also exchanged US teacher Marc Fogel for Russian computer expert Alexander Vinnik in early February.
The largest US-Russia prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War took place on August 1, 2024. It involved the release of journalists, including WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, and dissidents held in Russia in exchange for alleged Russian spies held in the West.
Several US citizens remain incarcerated in Russia, with Washington denouncing “hostage-taking” to obtain the release of Russians — including alleged spies — imprisoned in the West.

*Additional reporting from AFP


Red Cross concerned by drone attacks on critical infrastructure in Sudan

Updated 10 April 2025
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Red Cross concerned by drone attacks on critical infrastructure in Sudan

  • Some 70 percent to 80 percent of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge

GENEVA: The Red Cross raised alarm on Thursday at the growing use of drone attacks by warring parties on hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure in Sudan, which it said was contributing to widespread human rights violations.
Some 70 percent to 80 percent of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge due to damage caused by the war to water infrastructure, the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva.
“A recent drone attack stopped all the electricity provision in an area close to Khartoum, which means critical infrastructure is being damaged,” said Patrick Youssef, the Red Cross’s Regional Director for Africa, in a new report.
“There is a clear increased use of these technologies, drones – to be in the hands of everyone – which increases the impact on the local population and the intensity of attacks,” Youssef said.
After two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, some people are returning to Khartoum after they were forced to flee when war broke out on April 15, 2023 amidst an ongoing power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.
Some 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 2023.
“We have seen violations of the law left, right and center,” Youssef said, urging the warring parties to allow the Red Cross access so it can offer humanitarian support and document atrocities.
In March, aid groups said that the RSF had placed new constraints on aid deliveries to territories where it was seeking to cement its control. Aid groups have also accused the army of denying or hindering access to RSF-controlled areas.
Both sides in the conflict deny impeding aid.


Israeli minister says France plan to recognize Palestinian state ‘prize for terror’

Updated 10 April 2025
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Israeli minister says France plan to recognize Palestinian state ‘prize for terror’

  • France plans to recognize a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflic

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that Paris could recognize a Palestinian state by June, saying it would be a “prize” for terrorism.
“A unilateral recognition of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country, in the reality that we all know, will be a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas,” Saar said on X late on Wednesday. “These kind of actions will not bring peace, security and stability in our region closer — but the opposite: they only push them further away.”

France plans to recognize a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday.
“We must move toward recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonizing Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.