Sudan’s Silent Catastrophe: an Understanding on the structure of the RSF and a Call for Sanctions

A genocide you may have missed - but cannot ignore

The genocide in Sudan erupted in April 2023, when tensions between the country’s official military (the Sudanese Armed Forces – SAF) and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), exploded into full-scale fighting. What began as an army-versus-militia clash has morphed into a humanitarian disaster: famine, ethnic‐targeted violence, mass displacement. Analysts now describe the crisis as one of the most urgent in the world. 

El Fasher in North Darfur is now the epicentre of one of the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophes.

The RSF: from militia to state-sized war-machine

The Rapid Support Forces began as a transformation of the infamous Janjaweed militias used in Darfur. Under their leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), they’ve gained unprecedented power: territorial control, their own command structures, and commercial networks.

How did this happen?

• They secured lucrative control of gold-mining and smuggling operations, particularly in Darfur.
• They reinvested those profits into logistics: pick-up trucks converted into gun-carrying “technicals”, ammunition, and mobility that outpaced many regular army units.
• Their business front-companies and foreign-linked trading hubs (including in Gulf states) financed operations and offered political insulation. As one commentator put it: “Without Emirati support for the RSF, this war would have ended long ago.”  

Where do the guns and money come from?

Multiple investigations have traced the RSF’s funding and arms-flows to external state and non-state actors:

• Gulf backing: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is repeatedly accused of supplying weapons and logistical support to the RSF. The UAE denies the claims, but the evidence continues to mount.  
• Arms re-exports: Amnesty International found advanced Chinese-origin weaponry in RSF hands that emanated via UAE networks - raising serious arms-embargo questions.  
• Gold and trade: Sudan’s gold exports in 2024 - nearly all destined for the UAE - highlight the covert economy underpinning the conflict.  
• Regional smuggling hubs: According to one review, weapons arrive via routes through Libya, Chad, South Sudan and Uganda - displaying the conflict’s trans-regional nature.  

What’s happening to civilians?

The scale of human suffering is staggering:

• Over 12 million people displaced.  
• Famine (IPC Phase 5) now confirmed in several areas.  
• Mass killings, targeted ethnic violence (especially in Darfur), looted infrastructure and blocked aid. Yet despite the crisis, efforts to restrain the RSF and hold sponsors accountable remain weak.

Why sanctions on Gulf states make sense - and why they haven’t happened

Given the weight of the evidence pointing to external support for the RSF, especially via the UAE, many experts say sanctions must be extended beyond Sudan’s warring parties to the foreign backers. One article stated:

“Western governments … should openly condemn the UAE’s role … The international community can limit the financial resources directed to the RSF through sanctioning companies linked to the UAE that finance the RSF’s operations, such as gold-trading companies.” 

The logic: cut off the RSF’s external supply lines and financial lifelines, and you reduce their capacity for violence.

Yet geopolitics gets in the way: The UAE is a key strategic partner for the US and Europe, which complicates efforts to impose sweeping sanctions. Still, pressure is growing: Block arms sales to the UAE, and you will apply pressure to end the gold & guns trade with Sudan.

Concrete demands for a just response

These should be the actionable proposals for the international community:

• Freeze the assets of Gulf-linked companies and individuals documented to finance or supply the RSF.
• Suspend all arms-sales licenses to the UAE (and other states) until verified end-use controls exist and are enforced.
• Target gold-smuggling routes: sanctions on gold-trading companies based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or other hubs linked to Sudan’s war economy.
• Enable humanitarian access: condition foreign aid to Sudan on cessation of external support to militias, and open corridors in Darfur, Blue Nile, and Kordofan.
• Support accountability: assist evidence-gathering for war-crimes tribunals focusing on the RSF’s actions in Darfur and elsewhere.

Final thoughts

Sudan’s genocide is not simply an internal rivalry. It is fuelled by international finance, weapon flows and strategic meddling. The RSF’s rise from militia to dominant paramilitary force has been enabled by gold, trucks and external backers. Civilians are paying the price: famine, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement.

If the world wishes to stop this sliding into a complete genocide and regional collapse, the focus must widen: from Sudan’s combatants to the states, companies and trade networks that support them. Only then can meaningful change begin.