Sudan accuses 20 countries of arming Rapid Support Forces
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radio Tamazuj
Sudan’s Defence Minister Hassan Daoud Kabroun accuses more than 20 countries of funding and arming the Rapid Support Forces, including with drones and foreign fighters. He says the war has become an international conflict, without identifying the countries beyond accusations involving the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, according to SUNA.
Sudan’s Defence Minister Hassan Daoud Kabroun has accused more than 20 countries of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the army, through funding, drones, logistical assistance and the deployment of foreign fighters. He made the accusations in an interview with the official SUNA news agency published on Wednesday 28 October, without naming the countries concerned apart from allegations already made against the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.
The Sudanese government aligned with the army regularly accuses the United Arab Emirates of providing weapons and other forms of support to the RSF. It also accuses Ethiopia of allowing the group to use its territory for training and military operations. The United Arab Emirates has denied supporting the paramilitaries. Hassan Kabroun presented no evidence to support his new accusations.
The minister described the conflict as an international war rather than an internal struggle. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF began in April 2023, after a crisis linked to the planned integration of the paramilitary group into the regular army. Kabroun also accused political and military groups opposed to the government of working together to destabilise the country.
He also said Sudan wanted to join a regional collective Red Sea protection arrangement and obtain support from allied countries to establish a specialised coastguard. The force would be responsible for maritime security and combating piracy, arms trafficking and human trafficking. The accusations come as the Sudanese army struck an RSF camp in Nyala on 27 October.
