The Rapid Support Forces face accusations of importing 40,000 foreign mercenaries to fight in their ranks (French)

Khartoum -

As the war in Sudan approaches its first year, observers fear that the continued foreign presence and the flow of military support to the parties to the conflict will prolong the conflict, complicate the situation, and lead to the collapse of the state or its transformation into isolated mini-states and the emergence of warlords.

The latest report prepared by United Nations experts on Sudan revealed details of the military supply from abroad to the Rapid Support Forces. The report said that since August 2023, the forces have used heavy and advanced weapons that they had not used there before.

The United Nations team identified 3 main routes - which are still active to date - for supplies to the Rapid Support Forces, the first of which is through Am Jars Airport in eastern Chad, where cargo planes coming from Abu Dhabi International Airport land before stopping in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, and military support also flows from East Central Africa, in addition to supply lines through South Sudan and southern Libya.

The Rapid Support Forces used foreign expertise to fill the deficiency they suffer from in various aspects (French)

Mercenaries across borders

In his country’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, last September, the head of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said, “Sudan is facing a devastating war launched against it by the Rapid Support Forces, in alliance with tribal militias, others regional and international, and mercenaries from various parts of the world.” the world".

In the same context, a member of the Sovereignty Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Yasser Al-Atta, said when addressing the graduation ceremony of a batch of Justice and Equality Movement fighters, in the city of Kassala in eastern Sudan last week, that “the Rapid Support Forces are still bringing in mercenaries from several countries, the latest of whom are 600 mercenaries.” The Africans crossed the border through Darfur in early March, and the army was able to monitor their movement, and military aircraft dealt with them before they arrived in Omdurman.”

A former advisor to the Ministry of Defense said, "The Rapid Support Forces brought in more than 40,000 foreign mercenaries to fight in its ranks across various groups, from Chad, Central Africa, Libya, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Yemen, and Ethiopia."

In an interview with Al Jazeera, the advisor - who requested to remain anonymous - explained that “some of the forces brought by the Rapid Support were to fill the shortcomings that he suffered from in various aspects, as the fighters from Libya and Ethiopia are mostly snipers and are proficient in operating drones, while the fighters from South Sudan know how to... Use of guided artillery.

He added, "The army retrained new elements in the tactical and technical aspects and in the use of specific weapons, and introduced the method of popular resistance, which allowed it to achieve progress with the retreat of the Rapid Support Forces, which exhausted its trained forces and destroyed its heavy weapons, which prompted it to bring in more African mercenaries." To fill the shortage in its ranks, and to bring in weapons to compensate for what it lost.”

Denial and accusation

For his part, Al-Basha Tabiq, advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, strongly denied that their forces were using foreign mercenaries, and considered these accusations “talk for political consumption and to distort the image of the Rapid Support Forces.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Tabik believes that "the army's supporters and the elements of the Islamic movement fighting alongside it are trying to find legitimacy to gain the loyalty of the Sudanese people by claiming that they are fighting foreigners."

He added, "There are foreign mercenaries from Ukraine fighting in the ranks of the army, and this was confirmed by reports from the American Wall Street Journal. Ukrainian special forces from the elite forces also participated in the operation to smuggle proof from the army headquarters."

Tabik says that they have confirmed information that “the army brought members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, extremists from the Boko Haram group, in addition to the Al-Nusra and Al-Baraa Brigades, and other armed movements in Darfur.”

Supplies for the army

On the other hand, Western press reports reported that Ukrainian special forces participated alongside the Sudanese army, as part of a strategy aimed at undermining Russian military and economic operations abroad.

The American Wall Street Journal reported that Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking for help after Sudan secretly supplied weapons to Ukraine in 2022.

Bloomberg also reported, in a report from Western officials, that Iran provided the Sudanese army with “Muhajir 6” drones capable of monitoring and transporting explosives.

However, the advisor to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense denied this information, and explained that “the Sudanese defense industries system had partnerships with several countries before the war, which contributed to achieving self-sufficiency for the army, and the system began exporting weapons and military equipment to African and Arab countries, and the Sudanese government recently purchased weapons from countries.” “This is a legitimate matter, but it has not received military support from any country.”

Sudan had cooperation in the field of military manufacturing with several countries, including Ukraine and Iran, before the war (Anatolia)

Warlords

Amin Ismail Majzoub, a retired major general and expert in crisis management and negotiation, believes that “the Rapid Support Forces used trained foreign experts, and others were snipers with advanced experience, and they had an influential role in the second phase of the war, after the Rapid Support failed to control the army headquarters, and they are currently planning to deal with With the military situation, as is happening now in the state of Al-Jazira.”

Majzoub believes, in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, that “Sudan as a country has the right to obtain weapons through legal means,” noting that Sudan had cooperation in the field of military manufacturing with several countries, including Ukraine and Iran, before the war, and this cooperation is still continuing.

The military expert believes that any supply to the warring parties in Sudan will lead to a prolongation of the war, whether from logistical needs, human power, or media support, calling on the countries mediating to end the war to put pressure to cut off external supplies, until the situation calms down and a better climate is created for ceasefire negotiations. And address the roots of the crisis.

In turn, political researcher at the University of Khartoum, Suleiman Abdel Aziz, believes that military support contributed to the continuation of the war in the country for about a year, and it could continue for other years, as happened in Libya, Syria and Yemen, unless the flow of weapons and foreign fighters stops.

He told Al Jazeera Net that there are several risks if the interference of foreign fingers in the Sudanese crisis is not contained. He did not rule out the division of the Rapid Support Forces into several factions if its current leadership disappears.

The researcher believes that the continuation of the fighting will lead to the emergence of warlords and the division of the country into “cantons.” This will be aided by the state of security fluidity, the exit of states and large areas from state authority, and Sudan’s proximity to fragile countries such as Central Africa, Libya, Chad and South Sudan, which contributes to the spread of weapons and the transfer of weapons. Fighters cross open borders with these countries.

Source: Al Jazeera