A new report alleges that the European Union, driven by a desire to halt irregular migration, channeled substantial funds to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) between 2014 and 2021. According to the report, this financial support exceeded 400 million euros (approximately $432 million USD).
The funds, the report claims, inadvertently contributed to the rise of a repressive force, allegedly responsible for significant casualties, displacement, and a famine described by the United Nations as the worst since the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s. The report raises serious questions about the unintended consequences of European migration policies.
The author of the report argues that Brussels has been reluctant to fully acknowledge its role in the situation, continuing to fund the RSF’s activities for nearly a decade through the ‘EU Trust Fund for Africa’ and other programs. The primary objective, according to the report, was to stop migrants before they reached the Mediterranean Sea.
The RSF, currently led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as ‘Hemedti,’ was reportedly a key partner for the EU in ‘border control’ operations in Darfur and Kordofan. The report details how the militia received vehicles, military uniforms, radio equipment, ‘migration management’ training, and even biometric systems for identifying migrants.
Alarming reports had previously surfaced, including a 2017 report by the U.S.-based research and advocacy organization, ENF, titled ‘Border Control from Hell.’ This report explicitly stated that the RSF was among the most brutal groups on the planet, and that providing them with European funds and equipment was a form of madness. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and numerous other NGOs echoed these warnings.
According to the report, the EU briefly suspended some projects but later resumed them, seemingly disregarding the persistent warnings about the RSF’s alleged human rights abuses. The implications of this funding and its impact on the Sudanese people continue to be debated.
