Sudan: External Involvement Fuelling Sudan War, New Report Finds

What the report says

A new report from the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan says outside recruitment and support networks are intensifying the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The findings, published through UN News and carried by AllAfrica, say foreign personnel, weapons transfers, logistics support and military technology are helping both sides carry out more advanced operations. The conflict has been ongoing since April 2023.

The report says there are reasonable grounds to believe that transnational actors in several countries helped recruit, train and deploy foreign personnel for the RSF, and facilitated the movement of weapons and supplies through routes involving Chad, southeastern Libya and Bosaso in Somalia. It also says foreign-supplied drones were used by the SAF in operations that harmed civilians and civilian property. The mission said it documented the involvement of as many as 2,000 former Colombian military contractors in drone, artillery and weapons operations alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan.

The investigators warned that civilians are paying the heaviest price, citing attacks on homes, hospitals, schools, markets and places of refuge. They urged states to enforce the Darfur arms embargo, investigate illicit networks, stop transfers that could contribute to abuses and strengthen accountability measures. They also called on the UN Security Council to consider extending the embargo to all of Sudan.

The report is significant because it links the conflict not only to local armed groups, but also to cross-border supply chains and private actors that may be prolonging the fighting. The mission said international warnings about abuses should now be translated into action.