Sudanese-Ugandan Hostilities: A Web of Geopolitical Interests
The official protest lodged by Khartoum against Kampala is more than a diplomatic spat. It signifies the ongoing fragmentation within the Horn of Africa, where external actors routinely fuel internal conflicts for strategic gain. Dagalo, whose forces are locked in a brutal civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces, reportedly met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. This meeting followed the collapse
of peace talks in Jeddah, further complicating any resolution and underscoring Uganda's perceived alignment with one side of the conflict. Uganda's interventionist history in regional conflicts, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it has faced accusations of exploiting natural resources, offers a crucial lens. In 1999, reports from the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal
Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo detailed how foreign armies, including Uganda's UPDF, profited from the DRC's vast mineral wealth during inter-state wars. This pattern of resource-driven foreign involvement casts a shadow over Uganda's current engagement in Sudanese affairs, suggesting that stability is not necessarily the primary
objective. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF have received support from various international powers, each vying for influence in Sudan's strategically vital Red Sea access and its untapped resources. The UN estimates that over 12,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023. Uganda's diplomatic embrace of Dagalo, therefore, is not an isolated incident but rather a