GOLD is at the heart of the carnage taking place in Sudan’s civil war. According to the UN, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group is using the proceeds from gold mining to fund its devastating war against the country’s military.

The UN report from earlier this year is supported by a source from within Sudan. My source, who cannot be identified because to do so would place their life in danger, also claims that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has helped supply arms to the RSF in return for getting its hands on the rich gold reserves of the north African nation.

The UAE denies the allegation, which was also levelled earlier this year by the UN. At the time the UAE Foreign Ministry claimed they were “not supplying arms and ammunition to any of the warring parties,” and did not take sides in the current conflict.

They said: “The UAE is firmly committed to implementing UN resolutions and abiding by the UN sanctions regime on Sudan.” The UAE went on to repeat its calls for de-escalation of the conflict and a permanent ceasefire.

In the last two weeks, at least 123 people are reported to have been killed and around 1,000 wounded in el-Fasher, the provincial capital of the West Darfur region.

This comes after the deadly conflict, which broke out between Sudan’s military and the RSF on April 15 last year, is said to have killed many thousands across the country.

The two warring groups had been allies in ruling the country but turned on each other in a battle for control of the north African nation with, seemingly, a little help from their “friends.”

But the pursuit of gold by the UAE has fuelled the fighting that has plunged the country into famine and left hundreds of thousands of people displaced.

One of the least-asked questions in a conflict completely overshadowed by those in Gaza and Ukraine, is: where does the money come from in such a poor nation to fuel the fighting?

The RSF seems to have been engaged in a complex web of financing and new military supply lines. My source tells me that these supply lines have come through eastern Chad, Libya and South Sudan. The UN has also reached a similar conclusion.

The RSF has used this financial web to buy weapons and the support of hard-pressed young men — who have no other means of support — to fight for them. But the gold trade, which the RSF controlled before the civil war broke out, remains a key source of funding for both sides in the conflict.

This is a story as old as the hills. An outsider turning two factions against each other and reaping the dividends of chaos. The UN said earlier this year that the “complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby and buy the support of other political and armed groups.”

But my well-placed source from within Sudan claims that despite the denials, it is common knowledge on the ground that the UAE is actually funding both sides in the conflict. Gold is smuggled out of Sudan and eventually finds its way to the UAE, from where it is sold on the global gold market.

But it’s not just the UAE involved. The Wagner mercenary group is also taking its cut of the gold. The smuggled precious metal has become a crucial revenue stream to fund Wagner operations and contributed towards funding Russia’s war with Ukraine.

In Sudan, gold smuggling via the UAE has made the RSF commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, one of Sudan’s — if not one of Africa’s — richest men.

Dagalo is rumoured to have set up at least 50 shell companies within and outside Sudan. He is also alleged to have money deposited in banks in the UAE.

Whatever happens in the civil war, the general is likely to have several healthy nest eggs waiting for him if he is not arrested for the war crimes that have clearly been committed under his command. I would be amazed if the leader of the military, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had not made similar arrangements for himself.

But the role of the UAE is central to the civil war and concerning on a number of levels. It continues a disgraceful tradition of looting the resources of African countries for its own benefit — something most commonly associated with the former colonial rulers.

We should be clear that the mining of gold in Sudan, and much of the world, is not carried out in safe conditions. Last year 14 workers were killed in a gold mine collapse in northern Sudan. In 2021 some 31 people died when a defunct gold mine collapsed in West Kordofan province.

Sudan is Africa’s third-largest producer of gold but ranks as 172nd in the UN Human Development Index (out of a total of 191 nations). The percentage of the Sudanese population below the poverty line is well in excess of 35 per cent.

Sudan is not just about its gold reserves. It is also a leading producer of gum arabic, a water-soluble gum obtained from acacia trees and used in the production of adhesives, sweets and pharmaceuticals. So Big Pharma also has an interest in the outcome of the civil war and I dare say has been making its presence felt behind the scenes.

The UAE will know the state of the Sudanese economy but seems happy to exploit the workers of the country to enrich itself.

The UAE gold rush in Sudan has taken place at a time when it has become a new member of the Brics — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — nations back in January.

This creates problems for those of us arguing that the Brics bloc is a welcome antidote to the almost routine exploitation of Africa and the rest of the global South carried out by the Western powers. But perhaps it also underlines a key principle expounded by the Brics nations of refusing to interfere in the business of other nations.

It perhaps also underlines how Brics is not the traditional alliance we have become used to — one based on strategic military interests rather than the priority of trade which appears to be its dominant factor. However, the willingness to not interfere when a country is being funded to essentially fight itself to a standstill is deeply concerning, to say the least.

My sources in Sudan tell me that whatever peace talks take place they believe the country is destined to end up divided much like Libya.

Libya has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by rogue militias and foreign governments. This came about after the US-backed coup to overthrow the country’s long-time leader Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. We all know that in Libya it is oil rather than gold that has been the sought-after prize.

The prospect of an equally unstable and divided Sudan while outside powers exploit its wealth is something that we must all call out and organise to stop this impending disaster.

Roger McKenzie’s new book  African Uhuru: The Fight for African Freedom in the Rise of the Global South is available for pre-order from shop.morningstaronline.co.uk/products.