SUDAN - CONFLICT DRIVES MASS REFUGEE MOVEMENT AND FUELS HUMAN SMUGGLING

On 20 April, the SAF announced that it had taken control of the base, although this was disputed by interviewees in the area.19 Overall, in the first days of the conflict, the RSF suffered losses in a number of areas, a dynamic that the SAF tried to publicize as a form of psychological warfare, to create the impression of a general collapse in their opponent’s strength. [...] As of September 2024, a rough division of territorial control has emerged in Sudan, with the RSF largely in control of areas west of the Nile and, to a lesser extent, the south-centre of the country, and the SAF in control of areas east of the Nile, the northern border and the south-east. [...] 11 Sahelian mercenaries drawn into the conflict The role of mercenaries in the Sudanese conflict has become a point of contention between the RSF and the SAF, and an issue of significant concern to the international community. [...] The price of passage on the Dongola–Aweinat route can vary significantly, depending on the number of passengers and the level of enforcement on either the Libyan or Sudanese side of the border. [...] The SAF’s mass arming of civilians, known as the ‘mustanfareen’, is part of this, as is the heightened involvement in the conflict of former and current insurgent groups and ethnic militias on both sides.58 There have also been repeated reports of the active recruitment of mercenaries throughout the central Sahara, although specific information on the actors involved and the number of mercenaries.