The Face of Truth: Rapid Support: Manufacturing Chaos and the Regional Predicament..!
Ibrahim Shglawi
I received, through the private mail of The Face of Truth, a highly important report from the Sudan Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies—one of the most prominent national research entities that has emerged in recent years for its role in promoting civil peace, containing conflicts, and combating terrorist threats.
The report, issued on August 25, 2025, was translated and analyzed based on the work of an American writer of Sudanese origin residing in the United States, with investigative additions by the center. It offers a precise analysis of the role of the Rapid Support Forces militia in destabilizing Sudan and the region, highlighting suspicious foreign support and a proxy war that turns Sudan into an open theater for regional and international power struggles.
The report begins by discussing the strategic context of the Sudanese conflict, in which Sudan represents a unique geographic pivot in the African continent. It lies at the crossroads between the North, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Red Sea, making it of high interest to local and international powers, as well as transnational extremist groups. Controlling Sudan represents a strategic logistical and military lever, facilitating arms transfers, operation management, and access to vital maritime routes—at a time when securing supply chains, especially in the Red Sea, is increasingly urgent.
The report, titled “The War in Sudan and Its Impact on the Growth of Terrorist Activity in the Region”, begins by diagnosing the current situation in Sudan, presenting the Rapid Support Forces as the most destabilizing factor, given their military arsenal, smuggling networks, and ability to spread. It further highlights their emergence as an actor beyond the state, reshaping local and regional balances in favor of a transnational project supported by external parties with overlapping interests in Sudan and the region.
The report also points out that the Rapid Support Forces now effectively control wide areas in western Sudan, deeply embedded in the shadow economy and leading in gold, human, and arms smuggling—activities fueled by border chaos, the collapse of government oversight, and the absence of serious regional coordination. Within this vacuum, there are growing indicators of direct foreign intervention: from supplying military equipment to the involvement of foreign mercenaries, clearly referenced in official reports.
What is more dangerous, according to the report, is not the weapons alone but the environment taking shape under this conflict. The influx of more than eight million weapons, the release of hundreds of extremist prisoners, and the regression of regional intelligence services have all reopened the door for potential organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS to reposition, rebuild cells, and plan cross-border movements. Here, Sudan appears not merely as a hotspot of conflict, but as a potential transit point threatening the security of the Red Sea, destabilizing the Horn of Africa, and extending repercussions toward Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, and even the coasts of Europe.
In this context, the term “proxy war” is not just an analytical description, but an accurate portrayal of a political reality where international interests intersect. Foreign mercenaries—from Colombia and elsewhere—are fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces, in addition to ongoing reports of military and financial support from regional actors. Thus, the conflict turns into a geopolitical battlefield where regional and global powers compete for influence, while the Sudanese people and neighboring countries pay a growing price for the chaos.
One of the most dangerous indications highlighted in the report is the potential for the Sudanese crisis to expand geographically, threatening the security of the Red Sea, international shipping lanes, and oil tankers. No less dangerous is the irregular migration, now fueled from within displacement camps and exploited by armed groups and organized smuggling networks, recycling the chaos along new routes toward the Libyan coast, the Horn of Africa, or even Europe.
While the repercussions are severe, the international and regional response remains below the level of the challenge. The absence of serious coordination, multiple calculations, and conflicting interests complicate any comprehensive response. Therefore, the report proposes a set of practical recommendations as necessary inputs for more informed policies. These recommendations include: enhancing border security, intensifying intelligence cooperation, developing local strategies to combat smuggling and recruitment, and rebuilding community trust in conflict areas through developmental and humanitarian programs that undercut extremist groups.
The report recommends activating regional intelligence cooperation, particularly in border monitoring and preventing fighter infiltration. It also calls for launching comprehensive development programs in conflict zones as part of a preventive security strategy that empowers local communities to regain initiative and weakens the ability of extremist groups to recruit and expand. It further stresses the need to rebuild trust between the state and citizens by supporting national security agencies and gradually neutralizing all weapons outside state control, within a framework of disarmament and reintegration.
The report points out that any path toward resolution must include genuine international pressure on the parties funding the conflict, along with a comprehensive review of policies toward the Sudanese file, which for years remained trapped in a mindset of “containing the explosion” rather than “preventing the explosion.” Terrorism cannot be combated, smuggling cannot be stopped, and navigation cannot be secured without resolving the chaos that allows these phenomena to thrive.
Most importantly, in confronting the Sudanese crisis, the solution does not lie in security alone. The absence of a political project and the weakness of state institutions prolong the conflict and give militias the chance to survive. Sudan today needs a comprehensive national initiative that links security with development, integrates the internal scene with the regional environment, and makes effective use of friendly international support. The crisis is deeper than a mere security defect; it is a crisis of the absence of a unifying national project that recognizes identity pluralism and proposes a civil alternative to state governance. Therefore, a comprehensive political vision is required—one that begins from within and activates a serious regional and international role in favor of Sudan’s stability.
What is happening in Sudan is a pivotal moment reshaping the features of the national and regional landscape. This article, based on an analytical reading of the Sudan Center’s report and from the perspective of The Face of Truth, does not claim to have all the answers but seeks to broaden understanding and stimulate discussion. The challenges facing our country today are no longer postponed—they are fully present. Ignoring or denying them will not lessen their intensity but may complicate the paths to resolution. Nevertheless, there is still a chance to restore trust—if political will is available and a responsible domestic approach is presented, one worthy of Sudan’s history and people.
Wishing you well and in good health.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Shglawi55@gmail.com