Case Study Sudan

September 2024 , the World Health Organisation announced that Sudan is facing severe starvation. Famine has been reported in some of the most affected areas, including the western region of Darfur. Among Sudan's 47 million people, 12 million are displaced within the country, 2 million have fled to other countries, up to 150,000 have lost their lives, and nearly 25 million people—almost half the population—need urgent help. Since the civil war started in 2023 between the Rapid Support Forces, led by Hemedti, and the military government, led by al-Burhan, Sudan has lacked a stable government and cannot provide its citizens with basic needs. This situation calls for more support from international organisations such as the UN, and the challenges will likely extend into neighbouring countries. Currently, over 500,000 Sudanese refugees have sought safety in South Sudan, Egypt, and Chad.

Like other conflicts in the region, external actors, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel, have played a key role in exacerbating the ongoing crisis in Sudan. Although they shared a common goal of preventing Sudan from having a civilian and democratic government over the past few years, their interests and divergent agendas have significantly contributed to the current conflict, as they chose to support one side over the other to serve their own interests. 

One form of corruption, strategic corruption, as demonstrated in Sudan, involves the improper influence by international actors in collaboration with domestic actors to weaponize practices of foreign policy or access to natural resources. Activities such as gold mining are prioritized to the benefit of domestic power and corrupt foreign interests above the interests of the people.

Sudan’s civil war has a large cast of foreign malign actors. A June 2024 report by Amnesty International found that despite the Darfur embargo, recently manufactured guns, ammunition, drone jammers, mortars, and rifles have been imported into Sudan in large quantities from Russia, China, Turkey, and the UAE. Paul Sullivan, an analyst who focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, told Voice of America last year that China is interested in Sudan’s gold deposits and the Port Sudan location on the Red Sea in relation to growing world trade.

Sudan-Russia talks that began in 2007 under Omar al-Bashir were revived in June 2024, with Sudan’s RSF agreeing to give Russia a Red Sea base in exchange for weapons, ammunition, and replacement parts for Russian-made warplanes. Russia’s extended ties to Sudan also include gold mining that is presently organized by the Kremlin’s Africa Corps (and which was formerly run by the Wagner Group).

In March 2024, Iran petitioned Sudan to establish a naval base at the Port of Sudan on the Red Sea. The SAF rejected Iran’s request. Despite the rejection, Iran has reportedly supplied the SAF with Mohajer-6 drones.

Finally, there is the UAE. In violation of the Darfur arms embargo, the UAE is supplying weapons and ammunition to the RSF, as documented by a 2024 United Nations report to the Security Council. (The UAE strongly denies arming any group in Sudan.) The UAE is also the largest buyer of Sudanese gold. The RSF commits grievous violence against civilians using funds and weapons reportedly supplied by the UAE in return for gold from the country’s massive gold supplies. In 2023, Sudan was the third largest gold-producing country in Africa, yet Sudanese civilians are dying of hunger at the hands of corrupt military factions.