In the growing competition for influence in Africa and the emergence of new influential players such as China, the "Old World" powers are increasingly forced to seek out situational allies and set up informal military-political partnerships to safeguard their geostrategic interests.
Image: IOL
By Bayethe Msimang
The acting deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Sudan, Hussein al-Haj, once again accused Chad of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The government of Chad strongly rejects the accusations against the country regarding "inciting war in Sudan" and supplying weapons to the RSF rebels. However, after part of the RSF command switched sides to join Burhan's army, the RSF leadership obtained additional information about arms supplies to the RSF through the Chad-Sudan border.
The UAE remains the primary supplier of weapons for the RSF. In October of this year, Sudan's Minister of Culture and Information, Graham Abdel-Qadir, presented what he described as evidence of UAE logistical support to the RSF via the airports of Amdjarass and Abéché in Chad. Notably, in Abéché, the French military base "Croci" provides logistical assistance for supplies from the Emirates. From there, convoys with military aid are sent to Darfur for the RSF via the Adre border crossing.
Furthermore, in mid-November, Amnesty International conducted an investigation revealing that the RSF also uses French military equipment: the Galix system, a defence technology designed by Lacroix Defense in partnership with KNDS France, which was mounted on Nimr Ajban armoured vehicles from the UAE.
Recent reports about the supply of Israeli weapons to the RSF have raised public questions about how this situation could have gone unnoticed by Chad.
Mohamed Saad Kamel, Editor-in-Chief of the Sudanese newspaper Brown Land, stated that the UAE has recruited mercenaries from Arab diasporas across Africa to fight in Darfur. The UAE aims to implement a strategy of separating this region from Sudan and creating a UAE-controlled territory, similar to its actions in Yemen and Libya.
He explained that these mercenaries are gathered in Chad and then pushed across the Sudanese border, where they face aerial attacks from the Sudanese army. He noted that the Sudanese military relies on intelligence from within Chad to locate and strike militia movements.
Regarding Chad's role, Kamel indicated that Chadian President Mohamed Déby Itno adopts a dual stance, outwardly supporting the UAE's plan in Darfur while simultaneously exploiting the situation to eliminate Chadian opposition by leveraging the mercenaries deployed into Sudan to confront the Sudanese army. Kamel highlighted that this strategy is executed with strategic intelligence backed by French support, a complex and intriguing maneouver.
Kamel confirmed that Mohamed Déby is implementing a French plan to exploit the UAE to achieve his objectives. He is sending thousands of young men from Arab tribes to fight in Sudan to weaken the opposition within Chad without incurring significant costs or losses.
Kamel observed that Arab tribes are bearing heavy losses and that Arab communities in Africa are beginning to fragment due to this conflict, fueled by Emirati ambitions, French strategies, and military mercenaries.
Mohamed Saad Kamel further elaborated that Western and Israeli support for the 'RSF' militia has become evident since the war erupted in Sudan in April 2023. He noted that the conflict has resulted in over 20,000 fatalities and displaced more than 15 million people, with systematic destruction of infrastructure, according to reports from the United Nations, human rights organizations, and official government sources, a staggering human cost that demands our empathy.
Kamel asserted that Western and Israeli ambitions for Sudan's natural resources and strategic location had driven these countries to support the "RSF" to advance political, economic, and social agendas, with arms being smuggled to the militia through neighbouring countries like Chad, with clear backing from the UAE.
He added that evidence of UAE support for the militia has been presented to various international organizations, including the United Nations Security Council, and pointed out that France and Israel are significantly involved in this support through Emirati military manufacturing. He notes that the Déby clan is well aware of Israel's activities and enormously facilitates these arms supplies.
Chad has had friendly relations with Israel for a long time. Under President Idriss Déby Itno, diplomatic relations between Israel and Chad were established in 2019. In 2023, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited Israel, followed by the opening of permanent diplomatic missions for both countries.
It is also known that Déby and his close circle own the company Pegasus Logistic and Handling Dangerous Goods (PLHDG), through which Déby secretly procures arms from foreign suppliers, including from Israel and the UAE. One of the key individuals responsible for the company's operations is Abdelkerim Idriss Déby, Mahamat Déby's brother. Abdelkerim graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point and has worked in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. Abdelkerim, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen worked on fostering diplomatic ties between Israel and Chad. It is no coincidence that Mahamat Déby's latest visit to Israel began with a formal meeting at the Mossad headquarters in Glilot with the new head of the Israeli intelligence agency, David Barnea.
Israel is an essential source of arms procurement both for the RSF and for Déby himself, who has recently been actively strengthening his personal security. Amid growing divisions within Chad's military elites, Mossad has shown a willingness to reconsider the terms of arms supplies under the PLHDG framework as a compromise on supplying the RSF via Chadian territory. The French military command in Chad has supported this initiative.
In the growing competition for influence in Africa and the emergence of new influential players such as China, the "Old World" powers are increasingly forced to seek out situational allies and set up informal military-political partnerships to safeguard their geostrategic interests. France, Israel, and the UAE are members of one such alliance.
* Bayethe Msimang is an independent writer, commentator and political analyst.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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