Letter: Do not overlook the external forces driving Sudan’s conflict

By: Ambassador Babikir Elsiddig M Elamin
Ambassador and Head of Mission, Embassy of Sudan, London

The war in Sudan has unmistakable external dimensions as Mo Ibrahim concedes (“What happens in Sudan will not remain in Sudan”, Opinion, April 13).

There is compelling evidence that the Rapid Support Forces militia operates as a proxy for a regional actor pursuing agendas that far exceed legitimate national interests. The militia’s regional sponsor has co-opted several neighbouring states, whose territories are used as conduits for weapons transfers, training camps and drones targeting Sudanese civilians.

Western governments have contributed to the crisis, by granting the RSF a degree of legitimacy and financial support under the guise of curbing irregular migration. Some of them also tacitly supported the RSF’s demand to remain a parallel force to the SAF, which contributed to the outbreak of war.

The external dimension is further underscored by the presence of thousands of foreign mercenaries fighting alongside the RSF. A New York Times report (September 21 2024), citing a confidential EU memo, estimated their number at around 200,000 by February 2024.

To ignore these realities and portray the SAF and RSF as equivalent actors, as Ibrahim’s op-ed seems to imply, risks prolonging the war. Instead, the international community should treat the RSF in line with how it has addressed groups such as Boko Haram, Isis and al-Shabaab.

Historically, military coups in Sudan have been plotted by political parties rather than the SAF as an institution. At critical junctures — October 1964, April 1985 and April 2019 — the SAF intervened to end military rule. Holding the SAF as a whole responsible for coups, as Ibrahim does, risks absolving the political forces behind them.

Today, Sudanese people and leaders have little appetite for renewed military dictatorship. When the war ends, Sudanese citizens have both the agency and the experience to shape a civilian future — provided external interference ceases.