The American administration’s decision to impose sanctions on the network recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a step in the right direction. These measures address a fundamental driver of the conflict and civilian suffering: the role of foreign money, weapons, and fighters.
Four key individuals and four entities of this Colombian network were targeted, but this move has far broader implications. It directly addresses the one element of the major role that foreign actors have been playing in the perpetuation of the conflict. Foreign financial and military support for the RSF has become even more evident since it was pushed out of Gezira and Khartoum, which left it on the cusp of a decisive defeat after the balance of power began tilting in favor of the army and its allied forces.
The statement of the administration emphasized the Colombian mercenaries’ role in training fighters, including child soldiers, drone operations, and their direct involvement in the fighting in El-Fasher. It also highlighted the “brutality” of the RSF and its systematic attacks on civilians, including children, and its sexual violence against women and girls. The statement concludes with its most important message, calling “on external actors to stop providing military and financial support to the belligerents.”
This could be the first of further steps aimed at obstructing external support for the RSF and the recruitment of mercenaries for its operations. The American Secretary of State had previously noted, last November, that Washington “knows who the parties are that are involved,” and which countries are allowing weapons to be transferred from and through their territory.
It is evident that the American administration has been taking a more serious approach since the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who openly called on President Donald Trump to directly get involved in efforts to end the Sudan war. Following the sanctions, Secretary of State Rubio held two separate calls with the Saudi and Egyptian foreign ministers to discuss the issue, which reflects the growing role that the State Department is playing in coordination with the White House.
Foreign meddling, whether through financing and armament or mercenaries, must be a priority of any effort to end the war in Sudan. Although outside interference has been evident to many since day one, and perhaps even before, its prominence has surged following and become extremely dangerous since the RSF was expelled from Gezira and Khartoum, losing much of its hard power and retreating to Darfur and parts of Kordofan, while the military’s position strengthened.
Foreign-supplied weapons appeared at various stages of the war. Armored vehicles, rockets, and heavy ammunition were sent early on. Later, drones became more prominent, with strategic drones and sophisticated jamming equipment sent more recently. These weapons broadened the scope and damage resulting from the conflict. Even essential service facilities such as water and electricity stations have been turned to dust as part of a deliberate effort to make normalcy impossible and pressure civilians.
As for mercenaries, the RSF had relied on them early on. Even before the war, they had been recruiting and nationalizing groups from the “Arab diaspora” in Chad, the Central African Republic, Niger, and Mali. After the war erupted, many more arrived to join the RSF under, driven by communal loyalties and the promise of booty they could attain through looting public institutions, banks, and citizens’ property in the various areas they entered. After losing ground in central Sudan and Khartoum, and being pushed back toward Darfur and parts of Kordofan, however, foreign funding has compensated from the shortfall in riches that could be acquired through plunder in the recruitment of mercenaries.
Accordingly, sanctioning the Colombian mercenary network is an important message that undermines a source of escalation. Nonetheless, it is only an initial step; further measures to directly obstruct the flow of weapons must be taken. Countries that allow their territory to be used for shipping and transporting these supplies must be compelled to stop.
Unless this lifeline is cut, no attempt to end the war can succeed. On the contrary, the conflict will become more vicious and more expansive, with repercussions for the entire region, especially if some actors consider pushing Sudan toward a Libyan-style scenario. This must be avoided at all costs, as it would have devastating consequences for a country as large and complex as Sudan. The fallout would not stop at its borders.
