Sudan is more than two years into a brutal war. What many people don’t know is that the conflict is also fueled by a scramble for gold. The two main warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are controlling different parts of the country – the SAF mostly the country’s east and the RSF mostly the country’s west, including the Darfur region.
Both have been ramping up gold production throughout the war and are using it to fund their war efforts. Gold is increasingly being smuggled across the border to neighboring countries like Egypt. It’s also one of the ways global players such as the United Arab Emirates are entangled in the conflict. Dubai reportedly provides weapons, like drones, in return for gold.
