El-Fasher's Bloodied Ground: Profit Over People
The New Arab, citing the UN human rights office, reports that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed war crimes in El-Fasher, with a horrifying 6,000 casualties in three days. This condemnation is, of course, presented as impartial analysis, a straightforward reporting of atrocities. Yet, even as the global body decries the violence, the crucial omissions become glaringly obvious.
Curiously, the media seldom connects these 'war crimes' to the long shadow cast by Western capital and regional power plays. For example, did you know that the UAE, a major player in Sudanese gold exports, has seen its trade with Sudan surge since the conflict began? The World Gold Council reports that the UAE was the destination for 90% of Sudan's declared gold exports in 2022, a figure likely
dwarfed by undeclared shipments. This is not unprecedented; throughout post-colonial African history, from the Belgian Congo's minerals to Liberia's diamonds, foreign interests invariably leverage internal strife for resource acquisition. One might wonder why the international community, quick to impose sanctions on smaller actors, remains so reticent when powerful Gulf states and their Western
financial partners funnel resources from conflict zones. The incentive is clear: a destabilized Sudan means cheaper resource access, less regulatory oversight, and greater leverage for external actors who profit from chaos. The roughly $4 billion in private investment flowing into Sudan’s mining sector, much of it from Gulf corporations, speaks volumes about the true ‘stakeholders’ in this ongoing