The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the sides in Sudan’s protracted conflict that has forced roughly 1.3 million people from their homes, are said by the United States to have received surface-to-air missiles from Russia’s Wagner Group.
The US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on Wagner’s chief in Mali, accusing him of attempting to acquire weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine, at the same time as the claim against the mercenary group on Thursday.
According to a statement from the Treasury, the surface-to-air missiles in Sudan have led to “a protracted armed conflict that only fuels more chaos in the region.”
Since mid-April, the RSF and the Sudanese military, each led by a different general, have been engaged in a battle for control of the state and its resources that has claimed hundreds of lives.
In the meanwhile, since the fighting started, Washington has aided in arranging a number of cease-fire agreements. The warring parties agreed to a week-long ceasefire on Monday, but like with past ceasefire agreements, locals have reported ongoing fighting.
The US claims that its first priority in Sudan is to lessen the conflict before attempting to put a stop to it permanently and restore civilian authority. Humanitarian disaster has been warned of by rights organisations if the fighting continues.
The possibility of Wagner’s involvement in Sudan raised concerns from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, who claimed the group “simply brings more death and destruction” with it.
“It’s very important that we not see its further engagement in Sudan. And I know a number of countries are very concerned with that prospect,” he said.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “resorted to relying on the Wagner Group to continue his war of choice” in Ukraine, which has been subject to a full-scale assault since February 2022, according to the Treasury on Thursday.
The US imposed sanctions on Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov, the leader of Wagner in Mali, a landlocked nation in western Africa, as part of the statement.
“The Wagner Group may be attempting to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by working through Mali and other countries where it has a foothold,” the Treasury said. “The United States opposes efforts by any country to assist Russia through the Wagner Group.”
The US designated Wagner as a “transnational criminal organization” in the beginning of 2023 and levied sanctions on its key officials.
Additionally, the State Department charged Wagner earlier this week with attempting to use forged documents to transfer “material acquisitions to aid Russia’s war” in Ukraine through Mali.
“In fact, there are indications that Wagner has been attempting to purchase military systems from foreign suppliers and route these weapons through Mali as a third party,” spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday.
“We have not seen, as of yet, any indications that these acquisitions have been finalised or executed, but we are monitoring the situation closely.”