The Catastrophe Industry: Sudan's Famine and the Usual Suspects
1. The Actors: Shifting Alliances, Enduring Interests The current conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militias, which were instrumental in the initial Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, often supported by the then-government of Omar al-Bashir. Bashir himself, a former military leader, was indicted by the ICC in
2009 for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur (ICC, 2009). The current RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), is a former Janjaweed commander who rose to prominence with Bashir's backing. The SAF, on the other hand, is the official Sudanese military, now led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. These are not new players; they are iterations of power structures that have
historically leveraged violence and instability. 2. The Funding: A Global Bazaar of Influence The RSF, despite its brutal origins, became a key partner for regional and international powers. Saudi Arabia and the UAE heavily invested in the RSF, particularly for providing mercenary forces to support their interventions in Yemen, reportedly paying billions (NYT, 2019). The group also controls
lucrative gold mines, estimated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, giving it significant financial autonomy (Conflict Armament Research, 2022). The SAF, while ostensibly the official army, has also benefited from various forms of international military aid and has its own extensive business empire, controlling vast sectors of the Sudanese economy. The US, while often critical of