Since April 15, 2023, the conflict between the regular army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Force led by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo (or, as he is often called, “General Hemeti”) escalated sharply in Sudan. During the hostilities, hundreds of people have already died and thousands have been injured. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation does not officially support either of the warring parties, Moscow is actively taking part in this conflict using its militants from the Wagner Group.
It should be noted that a large number of mercenaries of the Russian Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, have been present in Sudan for a long time. The Russian is in the close circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Sudan, Russian mercenaries control gold mining in a number of deposits.
After the internal conflict began, the head of the Sudanese regular army said that the fighting would end quickly, as the army began to use aircraft. However, almost immediately, the Wagnerites provided the Rapid Support Force soldiers with missiles which they can use against government aircraft. It has already announced that at least one Sudanese army fighter jet was shot down.
More than 800 thousand people can leave Sudan as a result of clashes between warring military factions, Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Raouf Mazou said on May 1, 2023. It is worth noting that this is exactly what Moscow is trying to achieve by continuing to support the opposing sides in the conflict. Refugees are one of the “weapons” known to the Russian Federation for waging a hybrid war against the EU countries. Thus, the conflict in Sudan has become an opportunity for Russia to harm Europe.