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

Special 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)
Special How conflict-torn Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from the troubled Sahel
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The conflict between Sudan's army and the RSF has resulted in many localities burned down by the RSF and allied Arab militias, particularly in Darfur. (AFP/File)
Special How conflict-torn Sudan has become a magnet for fighters from the troubled Sahel
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Sudan Armed Forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) walks with other army officials during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state, on. (Sudanese Army photo handout/via AFP)
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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

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.


Three police killed in Iran, jihadists claim responsibility

Three police killed in Iran, jihadists claim responsibility
Updated 13 September 2024
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Three police killed in Iran, jihadists claim responsibility

Three police killed in Iran, jihadists claim responsibility

TEHRAN: Three police officers were killed Thursday in southeastern Iran in an attack claimed by a jihadist group that is active in the region, the country’s official news agency said.

“Three members of the police forces were killed and a civilian injured in an attack carried out by armed criminals in Mirjaveh in Sistan and Baluchestan province,” the IRNA news agency said.

Sistan and Baluchestan, one of the poorest regions in Iran, is mostly inhabited by the minority Baloch community, who largely practice Sunni Islam in a country where the theocratic government is staunchly Shiite.

The officers were attacked at a petrol station, IRNA said.

The Pakistani-based Sunni jihadist group Jaish Al-Adl, which means Army of Justice in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Telegram.

The same group claimed responsibility for an attack last month that killed the head of the criminal investigation department in the city of Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Jaish Al-Adl also claimed two attacks in April in the region that saw 10 members of the security forces killed.


Israel intelligence unit chief quits over October 7 failure

Israel intelligence unit chief quits over October 7 failure
Updated 12 September 2024
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Israel intelligence unit chief quits over October 7 failure

Israel intelligence unit chief quits over October 7 failure
  • Israeli army statement: ‘The commander of the 8200 unit, (Brig. General) Yossi Sariel, has informed his commanders and subordinates of his intention to end his position’
  • Public broadcaster Kan disclosed the existence of an intelligence brief prepared by Unit 8200 in Sept. 2023 that warned military officials of Hamas’s preparations for the attack

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Thursday that the head of an elite intelligence unit will resign over the failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“The commander of the 8200 unit, (Brig. General) Yossi Sariel, has informed his commanders and subordinates of his intention to end his position,” the army said in a statement.
“The officer will conclude his role in the near future.”
The prestigious and secretive Unit 8200 is in charge of decoding and analizing intercepts and other signals intelligence.
In the wake of October 7, Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate was thrown into a crisis that led to its commander, Major General Aharon Haliva, announcing his resignation in April 2024.
The army said then that Haliva had asked to be relieved of his duties for the directorate’s failure to foil the October 7 attack.
Israeli media on Thursday broadcast a copy of Sariel’s resignation letter in which he asked for “forgiveness” for “not fulfilling the mission we were entrusted with” on October 7.
In June, public broadcaster Kan disclosed the existence of an intelligence brief prepared by Unit 8200 in September 2023 that warned military officials of Hamas’s preparations for the attack.
Kan said the Unit 8200 document included details of elite Hamas fighters training for hostage-taking and plans for raids on military positions and Israeli communities in southern Israel.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Included in that count are hostages who were killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 41,118 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly refused to open an official inquiry into October 7 until the war in Gaza is over.


Libyan factions have not reached final agreement on central bank crisis, UN Libya Mission says

Libyan factions have not reached final agreement on central bank crisis, UN Libya Mission says
Updated 12 September 2024
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Libyan factions have not reached final agreement on central bank crisis, UN Libya Mission says

Libyan factions have not reached final agreement on central bank crisis, UN Libya Mission says
  • Libya’s two legislative chambers agreed this month to jointly appoint a central bank governor, potentially defusing a battle for control of the country’s oil revenue
  • Libyan oil exports fell around 81 percent last week as the National Oil Corporation canceled cargoes amid a crisis over control of Libya’s central bank and oil revenue

TRIPOLI: The UN Libya mission said on Thursday that Libyan factions did not reach a final agreement in the talks aimed at resolving the central bank crisis that has slashed oil output and exports.
The two-day consultations to solve the crisis hosted by UNSMIL were between delegates from the Benghazi-based House of Representatives, the High Council of State and the Presidential Council, which are both based in Tripoli.
However, the Mission statement did not mention the presence of the delegation of the Presidential Council on the second day of the talks.
The Presidential Council, based in Tripoli, had only rarely intervened directly in Libyan politics before its head Mohammed Al-Menfi moved in August to replace veteran central bank Governor Sadiq Al-Kabir, which led eastern factions to order a halt of oil flows across Libyan oilfields in protest.
Libya’s two legislative chambers agreed this month to jointly appoint a central bank governor, potentially defusing a battle for control of the country’s oil revenue.
The Mission welcomed on Thursday the progress made between the two legislative bodies “on the principles and timeline that should govern the interim period leading to the appointment of a new governor and board of directors for the Central Bank.”
Libyan oil exports fell around 81 percent last week, Kpler data showed on Wednesday, as the National Oil Corporation canceled cargoes amid a crisis over control of Libya’s central bank and oil revenue.


UN envoy repeats call for prioritization of efforts to end war in Yemen

The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, addresses a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. (Screenshot)
The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, addresses a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. (Screenshot)
Updated 12 September 2024
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UN envoy repeats call for prioritization of efforts to end war in Yemen

The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, addresses a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. (Screenshot)
  • Hans Grundberg urges all parties ‘to put Yemen first’ and work toward settlement of the conflict
  • Houthis have attacked more than 80 merchant ships since the war in Gaza began, seizing 1 vessel, sinking 2 and killing 4 sailors

LONDON: The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Thursday repeated his call for all involved in the war in Yemen to put the country first and prioritize efforts to resolve the conflict.

Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, he said the war in Gaza was having “destabilizing effects across the broader region,” including a negative effect on Yemen.

“Ansar Allah (the more formal name for the Houthis) has continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, threatening regional stability and international maritime security,” he told council members.

“In response, the United States and the United Kingdom have continued to strike military targets inside of Yemen.

“I reiterate my concern over this escalatory trajectory and repeat my call for the parties to put Yemen first and to prioritize a settlement of the conflict.”

The Houthis have attacked more than 80 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza began in October last year. They have seized one vessel and sunk two during their campaign, which has claimed the lives of four sailors. Many more missiles and drones were intercepted by the US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The militia continues to insist it is targeting ships with links to Israel, the US or the UK, in an attempt to force an end to Israeli military operations in Gaza. However, many of the targeted ships had little or no connection to Israel or the conflict, including some that were bound for Iran.

Grundberg called for an “immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, and a massive scale-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

He said the Houthi attack on the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion on Aug. 21 was a “development of particular concern” and “raises the imminent threat of a catastrophic oil spill and environmental disaster of unprecedented scale.”

Following the attack, fires burned for weeks on the vessel, which is carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil. Salvage efforts are continuing but proving difficult.

“An oil spill on this scale would have dire consequences for both Yemen and the broader region … I strongly urge Ansar Allah to end their dangerous targeting of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and beyond,” Grundberg said.

He also demanded that the Houthis release all of the Yemenis they have detained who were engaged in critical efforts related to humanitarian assistance, development efforts, human rights, peace building, and education.

“This includes United Nations personnel, members of civil society, staff of diplomatic missions, private-sector employees, and individuals from minority religious communities,” Grundberg said.

“The continued detention of these individuals is a profound injustice to those who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of Yemen. These detentions are shrinking civic space and negatively impacting humanitarian efforts critical to Yemenis.”

Joyce Msuya, the acting under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and acting emergency relief coordinator at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, echoed this demand.

“I want to start by expressing our deep concern about the continued arbitrary detention of United Nations personnel, non-governmental organization staff and civil society representatives, among others, by the Houthi de facto authorities.

“These colleagues have now been detained for more than three months. Four additional colleagues remain in detention since 2021 and 2023. I reiterate, in the strongest terms, the secretary-general’s demand for their immediate and unconditional release.

“Additionally, we strongly reject false allegations by the Houthi de facto authorities against humanitarians, including recent claims of interference in Yemen’s education system. These allegations threaten the safety of staff, further hinder the ability of the UN and its partners to serve the Yemeni people, and must cease immediately.”

She told council members the steady deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen continues.

“62 per cent of surveyed households report they do not have enough food to eat,” Msuya said. “This is historically high. For the first time on record, three districts — two in Hodeidah and one in Taiz — are facing extremely critical levels of malnutrition: IPC Phase 5. One more district is projected to reach this level by October.”

IPC is the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, and level 5 denotes famine in an area and catastrophe for households there because they do not have enough food to meet basic needs.

“By the end of 2024, more than 600,000 children in Government of Yemen-controlled areas are estimated to be acutely malnourished, and around 118,000 are projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a 34 per cent increase since 2023,” Msuya added.

Slovenia’s representative to the council, Samuel Zbogar, who is the president of the council this month, welcomed the World Food Programme’s ongoing emergency distribution of aid in Yemen.

“We are also following with concern the devastating impact of recent flooding, which has affected hundreds of thousands of Yemenis, aggravated the displacement crisis and exacerbated the outbreak of diseases,” he added.


EU foreign policy chief urges de-escalation at Lebanon-Israel border

EU foreign policy chief urges de-escalation at Lebanon-Israel border
Updated 12 September 2024
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EU foreign policy chief urges de-escalation at Lebanon-Israel border

EU foreign policy chief urges de-escalation at Lebanon-Israel border
  • US envoy visits Israel to warn against large-scale military action
  • Hezbollah adds another Israeli settlement to target list

BEIRUT: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for a de-escalation of tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border, expressing fears of “more regional escalation due to the war in Gaza and especially in Lebanon.”

He called on Lebanese leaders to work for the interests of their country and its people and “not for someone else’s interests.”

During a visit to Beirut on Thursday, Borrell met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Joseph Aoun.

He said that “the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701 should pave the way for a comprehensive settlement, including the demarcation of land borders between Lebanon and Israel.”

With more than 4,000 buildings completely destroyed and some 110,000 people having fled their homes in Lebanon, he said its people wanted peace, stability and prosperity — not war.

He added: “My main message today is that the EU stands with the Lebanese people to overcome the challenges as much as possible.”

Borrell warned that fears of further escalation and increased human suffering were growing and emphasized the importance of economic reform and bank restructuring.

The EU was ready to continue its support for Lebanon, he added: “We can help but we cannot overcome the internal obstacles. The Lebanese themselves can do so.”

Borrell’s meetings came amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the Lebanese southern front.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Borrell: “Lebanon doesn’t want war but has the right and the capacity to defend itself.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati emphasized “the necessity to intensify the international and UN pressure to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”

Israeli Channel 12 reported that US envoy Amos Hochstein had arrived in Israel with a message that the country should refrain from large-scale military action in Lebanon. The channel said both the US and Israel realized a war with Hezbollah could lead to a multi-front conflict, but while Hochstein would make efforts for settlement in the north, such agreement was linked to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli action against Hezbollah has increased in recent days. The militia added the settlement of Rosh HaNikra to its list of targets for the first time, along with Matzuva which was hit with salvos of rockets.

A statement said this was “in response to Israel’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and safe civilian homes, particularly the two wronged martyrs in El Biyada.”

In the town of El Biyada, an Israeli combat drone targeted a motorcycle and killed two brothers aged 12 and 17. Israeli artillery north of Ein Yaakov came under rocket fire, while Bayad Blida and Al-Malikiyah was attacked with heavy artillery shells.

Israeli media reported a fire north of Nahariya as a result of rocket fire from southern Lebanon, saying 50 rockets had been launched toward Western Galilee.

Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Alma Al-Shaab and the Labouneh area in Naqoura, and a drone targeted the outskirts of Maroun Al-Ras Park.

Israeli reconnaissance aircraft continued to fly over southern areas, especially western and central villages, extending to the outskirts of the Litani River and the coast.