SUDAN: ECONOMIC LINK BETWEEN FRIENDS-TURNED-FOES

Today, on the second anniversary of the foreign-backed proxy war in Sudan, we post a throwback to an insightful conversation from mid-December 2024.

During Episode 17 of the ‘Pan-African Attitude’ podcast, African Stream Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Kaballo (@ahmedkaballo on X) sat down with his father, Sidgi Kaballo, a prominent academic, politician and leading member of the Sudanese Communist Party.

The senior Kaballo delved into the economic roots of the war, linking it to Sudan’s military-industrial complex and the country’s natural resources. Both the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the United Arab Emirates-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (infamously known as Hemedti), maintain a monopoly over the trade of commodities like gold. Kaballo offered that competition over control of these resources is a key factor in the rift between the two leaders of the warring factions, who were once close allies collaborating to recruit Sudanese on behalf of Saudi Arabia in its war with Yemen.

Interestingly, the friendship began in Darfur at a time when both the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militia it funded committed a g*nocide against the non-Arab Darfuris. Today, the RSF is mainly composed of former Janjaweed members. Meanwhile, Darfur continues to be the site of atrocities, with both SAF and RSF targeting civilians.

The war, which began on 15 April 2023, has resulted in catastrophic human loss and displacement. By May 2024, the US Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello estimated that the conflict may have claimed as many as 150,000 lives. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine further estimated that over 61,000 people were killed in Khartoum alone during the first 14 months of the conflict. 

The humanitarian crisis is immense: More than 14 million people have been displaced and over half of Sudan's population remains in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The war has devastated infrastructure, disrupted food supplies and led to widespread disease. The UN has also confirmed famine in at least five areas, including North Darfur.

Sources

https://english.aawsat.com/features/4948606-al-burhan-hemedti-friends-foes-rift-ignited-sudan

https://www.dailysabah.com/world/africa/sudan-conflict-deepens-as-al-burhan-hemedtis-foreign-backing-soars

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/sudan/two-years-sudans-war-spreading

https://sudantransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GoldSectorEN.pdf

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/exclusivesudan-militia-leader-grew-rich-by-selling-gold-idUSKBN1Y01DQ/

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250330-sudan-booming-wartime-gold-trade-flows-through-the-uae

https://www.africaintelligence.com/eastern-africa-and-the-horn/2022/07/25/inside-sudan-s-labyrinthine-military-industrial-complex,109801622-ge0

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/sudan-faces-worsening-humanitarian-catastrophe-famine-and-conflict-escalate

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/famine-confirmed-sudans-north-darfur-confirming-un-agencies-worst-fears