Darfur Arab Tribes Could Tip Scales In War-torn Sudan

Sudanese refugees gather as "Doctors Without Borders" teams provide assistance to war-wounded individuals from West Darfur, Sudan, at Adre Hospital in Chad (Reuters).
Sudanese refugees gather as "Doctors Without Borders" teams provide assistance to war-wounded individuals from West Darfur, Sudan, at Adre Hospital in Chad (Reuters).
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Darfur Arab Tribes Could Tip Scales In War-torn Sudan

Sudanese refugees gather as "Doctors Without Borders" teams provide assistance to war-wounded individuals from West Darfur, Sudan, at Adre Hospital in Chad (Reuters).
Sudanese refugees gather as "Doctors Without Borders" teams provide assistance to war-wounded individuals from West Darfur, Sudan, at Adre Hospital in Chad (Reuters).

A dozen Arab tribal leaders from Sudan's western region of Darfur have pledged allegiance to paramilitaries at war with the army -- a move analysts warn could tip the scales in the months-long conflict.

The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has wreaked havoc on Darfur, where experts fear a widening ethnic divide could spell more violence.

In a video released Monday, leaders from seven of South Darfur state's main tribes urged their members to desert the army and fight instead for the rivalling RSF.

"This announcement will have a massive impact" on the war in Sudan, which has killed nearly 3,000 people, said veteran local journalist Abdelmoneim Madibo.

"Like in El Geneina, it will divide South Darfur between Arabs and non-Arabs," he told AFP, referring to the West Darfur capital which has been the scene of major bloodshed and ethnically targeted attacks.

The RSF paramilitary group traces its origins to the Janjaweed -- feared Arab militiamen who committed widespread atrocities against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur starting in 2003.

Many fear a repeat of history in the latest war, with residents and the United Nations reporting civilians being targeted and killed for their ethnicity by the RSF and allied militiamen.

Both sides have long courted young men in Darfur, which is home to a quarter of Sudan's population.

But experts point out that while the war has already taken on an ethnic dimension in the region, it has yet to impact the makeup of the forces, which are comprised of both Arab and non-Arab groups.

The army's second-in-command in both Nyala and neighbouring East Darfur are generals from the Arab Misseriya tribe. Meanwhile, the armed forces count several officers from the Rizeigat tribe -- Daglo's own -- among their ranks.

The leaders of both tribes appeared in Monday's video, rallying support for the RSF.

There has yet to be an exodus from the army's ranks. However, analysts fear the tribal push could bring about further ethnic stratification.

Darfur specialist Adam Mahdi said the announcement carries tremendous weight, saying the tribal leaders represent "the real government" in the region and without them, "the army holds no respect or legitimacy".

The point of Monday's video, he told AFP, was to draw a line in the sand, cut off army recruitment and "clearly state the allegiance" of these tribes to the RSF.

The army could find itself facing a broad united front "pushing it out of South Darfur, where most of its bases have fallen," Mahdi told AFP.

The temptation could be "to arm other tribes and launch a proxy war," he added.

A military source dismissed the call to arms as "a media stunt" by tribal leaders "out for their own interests", speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

For the moment, he said, those interests converge with those of Daglo -- who is "trying to prove he has tribes' support".

But in both southern and eastern Darfur, where Arab tribes are the majority, local fighters have joined the fray on the RSF's side, according to several residents.

Adam Issa Bishara, a member of the Rizeigat tribe, told AFP he is preparing to go and fight for the RSF in Khartoum.

"They're our cousins, we can't abandon them," he said.

The RSF have not announced how many of their forces have been killed under near-daily air strikes from the armed forces in Khartoum.

Mere hours after Monday's video appeared online, witnesses in a West Darfur town reported an attack "by armed men from Arab tribes supported by the RSF".

Activists in West Darfur have accused the RSF of "executing" civilians for being part of the Massalit tribe, one of the major non-Arab ethnic groups in the region,

Rights defenders, tribal leaders and international groups have condemned the assassinations of Massalit officials in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina, which has seen some of the worst fighting in the current war.

Observers say the center of fighting in Darfur -- a region the size of France -- is shifting to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur and Sudan's second-largest city.



Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syrian border security forces have discovered dozens of factories producing narcotics, Captagon pills, hashish, and counterfeit US dollars in abandoned warehouses on a hilltop in Al Qusayr’s village of Hawik, near the western countryside of Homs, close to the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The illicit goods were intended for smuggling into neighboring countries and beyond, authorities said.

The border area, facing Lebanon’s Baalbek province, was until recently under the control of Hezbollah. Following the group’s expulsion, Syrian security forces dismantled the drug operations, paving the way for the Lebanese army to secure the region, according to officials.

In a makeshift drug lab perched on a remote hill along a secondary road in Hawik—just a few hundred meters from the Lebanese border—Syrian security forces found stockpiles of equipment and materials used in drug production.

Inside the warehouses, they uncovered industrial machinery, large blue storage tanks filled with raw substances for Captagon production, as well as wooden containers and sealed plastic boxes containing hashish.

Homs border security chief Maj. Nadim Mdakhneh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the previous regime and Hezbollah had turned the area into a drug smuggling route and a hub for illegal drug production, weapons trafficking, and counterfeiting before being expelled this month.

Syrian military operations forces launched a sweeping security campaign this week, targeting villages near the Lebanese border, including Hawik, Jarmash, Wadi al-Hourani, Akoum, and Wadi Hanna.

Clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters, remnants of the ousted regime, and drug and arms traffickers.

The forces seized full control of the border strip, set up checkpoints, and implemented strict measures to prevent smuggling, officials said.

The crackdown included raids in several Syrian villages, particularly Hawik, Jarmash, and Hit—key hubs for drug trafficking.

Mdakhneh said security forces discovered around 15 drug production facilities and a counterfeit currency printing press.

“We seized massive shipments of weapons, drugs, and raw materials intended for smuggling,” Mdakhneh said. “These areas were the economic lifeline of these criminal networks.”

Syria and Lebanon share a 330-kilometer border, much of it unmarked and stretching across valleys and rugged mountains—terrain long exploited by drug smugglers and arms dealers.

Counterfeit Money Operation

In a third warehouse, Hezbollah operatives set up a counterfeit money operation, producing fake $100 bills using advanced printers, holograms, ultraviolet scanners, and an offset printing press, security officials said.

During Syria’s war, the country became the region’s top producer of Captagon, especially under ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Some reports have called Syria a “narco-state,” with British data estimating it produced nearly 80% of the world’s Captagon supply by the end of last year.

In another warehouse hidden in a mountainous area, a security officer opened a device and found round drug tablets inside.

“This is how they made and hid the drugs before smuggling them to the Gulf and beyond,” said security officer Nader Abu al-Bara, who took part in the raid.

Captagon Pills, Hashish Stored in Packages

Captagon pills were packed in sealed bags. Hashish was stored in medium-sized wooden crates and plastic containers, while processed batches were wrapped in red gloves for identification, security officials said.

Residents of the border region said civilians were strictly prohibited from approaching the heavily guarded drug production sites.

“No one was allowed near these facilities,” said Ahmad al-Saab, 55, a resident of Hawik. “Syrian intelligence and Hezbollah fighters stationed in the area kept us away. We often smelled strange, unpleasant odors, but we had no idea what was happening inside. We only heard rumors about factories, but no one dared to get close.”

Security forces discovered surveillance cameras and network lines connected to Lebanese territory during their operations, officials said.

Mdakhneh stressed that the crackdown was limited to Syrian villages near the Lebanese border.

He said coordination between Syrian military operations and the Lebanese army is ongoing, adding that “for the first time in 14 years, the Lebanese army has begun deploying in this area.”

Mdakhneh said clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters and traffickers, and during the raids, security forces found documents linking members of Lebanese tribal families to the smuggling operations.

The trade in Captagon pills in Syria was worth an estimated $6 billion by the end of 2024, according to United Nations figures. The drugs were primarily smuggled to neighboring Iraq and Jordan before being trafficked onward to Gulf states.