Why the World Ignores Sudan: An Observation

By: Seringe ST Touray

Since 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by fighting between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an organised armed rebel group accused of massacres and atrocities across the country. The U.S. special envoy for Sudan said in May 2024 that the real death toll could be as high as 150,000.

Sudan’s government has formally accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of backing the rebels, and even raised the issue before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Separately, U.S.-backed monitors and intelligence reports have linked alleged arms shipments to the rebels that passed through the UAE.

Now follow the money.

Trade data shows the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold directly from Sudan in 2024, up from 17 tonnes the year before, while the war continued. At the same time, the rebels control significant parts of Sudan’s gold sector.

Do you see the connection?

The rebels accused of carrying out atrocities control gold. The gold flows abroad. Weapons flow back into the war. And while all this happens, thousands of Sudanese civilians continue to die.

P.S.: Investigators from Yale University analysed satellite images during rebel attacks around the city of El Fasher in Darfur last year. They reported stains consistent with blood visible from space, clusters of bodies, and ground believed to contain mass graves.