NAIROBI, Kenya — As the war engulfs Sudan, other nations have quickly mobilized.
Egypt hastened to bring home 27 of its soldiers, who had been captured by one of the warring parties in Sudan. A Libyan military chief offered weapons to his favorite faction, US officials have said.
Diplomats from Africa, the Middle East and the West have called for an end to the conflict that has reduced parts of Khartoum, the capital, to a smoking battlefield.
Even Wagner’s leader, Russia’s notorious private military company, has gotten involved. Publicly, he has offered to help mediate between rival generals vying for power, but US officials say he has also offered weapons.
The flurry of international activity reflects a dynamic that was hanging over the country long before its two top generals turned on each other in recent weeks: Sudan has been available for the taking for years.
The 2019 revolution, in which tens of thousands of protesters ended the 30-year dictatorship of President Omar Hasan al-Bashir, was supposed to usher in a bright future. But it meant new opportunities for foreign powers to pursue their interests in Africa’s third-largest country, a nation strategically located on the Nile and Red Sea, with great mineral wealth and agricultural potential, and barely emerging from decades of sanctions. and isolation.
Russia sought naval access for its warships to Sudan’s Red Sea ports. Wagner traded in armored vehicles and training in exchange for lucrative gold mining concessions. The United Arab Emirates paid one of the warring Sudanese generals, Mohamed Hamdan, to help them fight in Yemen, authorities say. Egypt backed the other general, Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, sending soldiers and warplanes in a show of support.
Israel, long shunned in the Arab world, saw an opportunity to get something it coveted: formal recognition. He signed an agreement to normalize relations with Sudan in 2020.
And Western countries sought to promote what may have been the most difficult idea of all—the transition to democracy—while also hoping to counter the growing influence of China and Russia in Africa.
“Everyone wanted a piece of Sudan,” said Magdi el-Gizouli, a Sudanese analyst at the Rift Valley Institute, a research group. “Too many competing interests and too many claims, then the fragile balance imploded.”
As some foreign powers took sides and even handed over weapons, they weakened Sudan’s pro-democratic forces and helped tip the country toward war by bolstering now-fighting military rivals.
Among the biggest players is the United Arab Emirates, which has expanded its influence in the region. Their interest in Sudan dates back more than a decade, beginning with the country’s vast agricultural potential, which Emiratis hope can ease their food supply concerns. But the Emiratis broke with al-Bashir after he refused to back them in their dispute with Qatar. After he was deposed, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia announced $3 billion in aid and investment to help Sudan.
Publicly, the Emiratis are part of a diplomatic group known as the Quad. The group, which includes the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia, had tried to return Sudan to civilian rule.
But at the same time, officials say, the Emiratis also helped prop up General Hamdan, the leader of a feared militia accused of atrocities in Darfur. He has expanded his war chest via deals channeled through Dubai.
Russia has a long relationship with the Sudanese military, and since 2019 Wagner has mined gold, explored for uranium and supplied mercenaries to the troubled Darfur region.
The least successful foreign project in Sudan is the one promoted by Western countries—the shift to democracy. Now Western countries are pressuring Persian Gulf powers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to use their influence to force the generals to resign.
“Are they going to freeze assets if they don’t listen?” said Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group. “Nobody wants a failed state in Sudan.”
By: Declan Walsh
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6681310, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-04-26 19:10:06
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