Since the eruption of the conflict, both the SAF and the RSF have sought support from external actors. The SAF maintained close ties with Egypt290 reflecting long-standing relations between the two countries’ militaries.291 It has been alleged, including by the experts and the RSF, that Egypt provided the SAF with aerial support, Chinese-made K-8 fighter jets, ammunitions and training, as well as weaponry and military intelligence to the SAF-allied SLA-MM forces.292 While Egypt’s minister of foreign affairs denied that his country was providing military support to the SAF,293 Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged his ‘continued support’ to the SAF during a November 2024 meeting with al-Burhan.294
After re-establishing diplomatic ties with Sudan in October 2023 following an eight-year break,295 Iran began to provide material assistance to the SAF with drones296 such as Iran-made Mohajer-6 and Ababil drones that contributed to subsequent SAF victories over RSF fighters.297 Research published by the Conflict Observatory with funding from the US Department of State (USDOS) concluded that ‘with near certainty’, the transfer of weapons from Iran to the SAF via flights to Port Sudan airport continued during the reference period of this report.298
Meanwhile, the UAE, viewed as the RSF’s most important ally in the past years,299 has repeatedly been accused of supporting the RSF in the current conflict.300Research published by the Conflict Observatory with funding from the USDOS concluded that ‘with near certainty’, the transfer of weapons from the UAE to the RSF through Amdjarass airport in Chad,301 already addressed in a January 2024 report of the UN Panel of Experts on the Sudan,302 continued into the reference period of this report.303 These findings have been corroborated by numerous other reports,304 including by research conducted by Amnesty International305 and Reuters.306 However, the UAE government denied providing military, logistical, political or financial support to any of the warring parties.307 For further information on the UAE’s reported military support for the RSF, see section 1.2.1 Major state and non-state armed groups.
The RSF also maintained links to the Russian-supported Libyan National Army (LNA) of Libya’s warlord Khalifa Haftar.308 Russia’s mercenary army Wagner Group, now renamed ‘Africa Corps’,309 has also been accused of supplying weapons to the RSF,310 including surface-to-air missiles.311 In response to the Wagner Group’s alleged support for the RSF, Ukrainian special forces intervened on behalf of the SAF312 and were reported to have started training SAF personnel in March 2024.313 During the reference period, the Russian government, which has been seeking to establish a Russian naval base in Port Sudan, gradually backed away from supporting the RSF and shifted towards supporting the SAF.314 In November 2024, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate halt of attacks against civilians and for all feasible precautions to be taken by the warring parties to avoid and minimise civilian harm.315
Saudi Arabia, which had maintained close ties to both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo prior to the current conflict, has claimed a mediating role over the conflict316 (with no evidence of providing military support to the SAF),317 while also seeking to safeguard its economic interests in the Red Sea region318 and to counter-balance the UAE’s military-focused efforts to exert influence in Sudan.319
- 290
Reuters, Sudan's conflict: Who is backing the rival commanders?, 12 April 2024, url
- 291
VOA, Analysts: Presence of foreign actors complicates Sudan war situation, 20 June 2024, url
- 292
Ayin Network, Egypt’s intervention in Sudan’s war, 27 December 2024, url
- 293
Sudan Tribune, Egypt rejects RSF leader’s accusations of support for Sudanese army, 18 October 2024, url
- 294
AFP, Egypt's Sisi assures Sudan army chief of 'continued support', 5 November 2024
- 295
ADF, Iran Seeks Influence In Sudan Through An Influx Of Weapons – Analysis, Eurasia Review, 20 October 2024, url
- 296
Reuters, Sudan's conflict: Who is backing the rival commanders?, 12 April 2024, url
- 297
ADF, Iran Seeks Influence In Sudan Through An Influx Of Weapons – Analysis, Eurasia Review, 20 October 2024, url
- 298
Conflict Observatory, Foreign Facilitators of Weapons Fueling Sudan's Civil War, October 2024, url, p. 3
- 299
Reuters, Who is fighting in Sudan?, 15 April 2024, url
- 300
Sudan Tribune, Sudan reiterates accusations of UAE support for RSF, urges UN action, 12 October 2024, url; VOA, Analysts: Presence of foreign actors complicates Sudan war situation, 20 June 2024, url
- 301
Conflict Observatory, Foreign Facilitators of Weapons Fueling Sudan's Civil War, October 2024, url, p. 3
- 302
UN Security Council, Final report of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan, S/2024/65, 15 January 2024, url, para. 41-42
- 303
Conflict Observatory, Foreign Facilitators of Weapons Fueling Sudan's Civil War, October 2024, url, p. 3
- 304
See, for example, Reuters, Dozens of UAE flights head to airstrip UN says supplies arms to Sudan rebels, 12 December 2024, url; Amnesty International, New weapons fuelling the Sudan conflict, 25 July 2024, url; Howarth, C.N. et al., Special Report: Cargo Plane over RSF Territory & Continued Civilian Displacement from El-Fasher, Yale HRL, 12 June 2024, p. 4; MenchOsint, [@MenchOsint, X], posted on: 14 May 2024, url
- 305
Amnesty International, New weapons fuelling the Sudan conflict, 25 July 2024, url
- 306
Reuters, Dozens of UAE flights head to airstrip UN says supplies arms to Sudan rebels, 12 December 2024, url
- 307
VOA, Analysts: Presence of foreign actors complicates Sudan war situation, 20 June 2024, url
- 308
Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Sudan, May 2024, url, p. 25
- 309
Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Sudan, May 2024, url, p. 25, footnote 157
- 310
VOA, Analysts: Presence of foreign actors complicates Sudan war situation, 20 June 2024, url; ADF, Drones Supplied by Iran and UAE Threaten to Prolong the Conflict in Sudan, 9 July 2024, url; Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Sudan, May 2024, url, p. 25
- 311
VOA, Analysts: Presence of foreign actors complicates Sudan war situation, 20 June 2024, url; New Arab (The), Will Russia's support for Sudan's army turn the tide in the war?, 3 June 2024, url
- 312
Reuters, Sudan's conflict: Who is backing the rival commanders?, 12 April 2024, url; Asharq Al-Awsat, Ukraine Fights Russia in Sudan, 9 March 2024, url
- 313
WSJ, Ukraine Is Now Fighting Russia in Sudan, 6 March 2024, url
- 314
McGregor, A., Russia Switches Sides in Sudan War, The Jamestown Foundation, 8 July 2024, url; New Arab (The), Will Russia's support for Sudan's army turn the tide in the war?, 3 June 2024, url
- 315
UN Press, Russian Federation Vetoes Security Council Resolution Aimed at Strengthening Measures to Protect Civilians, Increase Humanitarian Aid Access in Sudan, 18 November 2024, url
- 316
Reuters, Sudan's conflict: Who is backing the rival commanders?, 12 April 2024, url
- 317
SWP, How (Not) to Talk About the War in Sudan, 22 April 2024, url
- 318
Reuters, Sudan's conflict: Who is backing the rival commanders?, 12 April 2024, url
- 319
Badi, E., Sudan is caught in a web of external interference. So why is an international response still lacking?, 17 December 2024, Atlantic Council, 17 December 2024, url