The Sudanese Army, seeking to mitigate its successive losses, has expanded its alliances to counter the rapid victories and control of the Rapid Support Forces over cities. Reports have revealed the Sudanese Army’s use of Ukrainian mercenaries, a development highlighted in an investigation by CNN. This investigation suggests that the Ukrainian special forces could be behind a series of attacks targeting the Rapid Support Forces.
The presence of Ukrainian forces in Sudan is reportedly to counter the proximity of Russia’s Wagner Group near the Sudanese capital, potentially spreading the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine far from the front lines.
In September, a Ukrainian military source indicated that an operation targeting the Rapid Support Forces was likely conducted by a non-Sudanese army, most probably the Ukrainian special services.
CNN obtained video footage showing drone attacks on the Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman and its surroundings, conducted in a Ukrainian manner similar to tactics used against Russia. This kind of direct drone assault is unusual in Sudan and Africa.
The involvement isn’t limited to Ukrainian mercenaries. There’s also an alliance between the Sudanese Army and Iran, as reported by Syria TV in September. This report followed a meeting three months prior between the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and his Sudanese counterpart, Ali Al-Sadiq, in Azerbaijan. Both sides expressed a desire to return relations to their pre-2016 status and to explore “opportunities for joint cooperation.”
According to the report, Iran sent its first arms shipment to support the Sudanese Army in late August, part of a series of coordination efforts to facilitate support reaching Palestinian resistance movements.
Lebanese Hezbollah is also reportedly active in the Sudanese civil war, supporting the Sudanese Army. Hezbollah advisors are training army forces in guerrilla warfare, and the party has brought in dozens of fighters recruited from Syria to Sudan for potential use as needed.
