Sudanese minister calls for troops surge in North Darfur

January 27, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s Minister of Minerals on Monday urged the military to deploy its strike force to Darfur to prevent the city of El Fasher from falling to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing the United Arab Emirates and Chad of fueling the conflict by supplying the group.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Minister Mohamed Bashir Abunommo called for the “immediate deployment” of troops to Darfur. He added that the conflict in Khartoum and Al Jazirah state was effectively over and that remaining RSF fighters in those areas were attempting to flee to Darfur.

Abunommo, who is a leading member of the SLM-Minawi, alleged that Chadian President Mohamed Idriss Deby was complicit in supporting the RSF, claiming that large Ilyushin aircraft were regularly transporting military equipment, including drones, from Chad’s N’Djamena airport to Nyala airport in Sudan.

He said these drones were being used to carry out precise air strikes on Sudanese army positions in El Fasher, resulting in civilian casualties.

Further, Abunommo accused the United Arab Emirates of financing these operations, alleging that Deby was receiving financial incentives in exchange for his involvement.

He pointed to an increase in night flights by Ilyushin aircraft from N’Djamena to Nyala in South Darfur and claimed the UAE was seeking to utilize strategic drones to escalate the conflict in El Fasher into a form of electronic warfare.

He said the UAE was employing retired pilots from Eastern European countries to fly the transport aircraft from N’Djamena to Nyala.

These aircraft, he added, were transporting “military equipment”, including the drones which he claimed were being used to strike army positions, from N’Djamena to Nyala or other makeshift airports in Darfur and North Kordofan.

Sudan has filed a complaint against the UAE to the UN Security Council, accusing it of supplying weapons and equipment to the RSF via Chad. A similar complaint against Chad has been lodged with the African Union.

Sudan Tribune could not independently verify the claims made by the Sudanese minister. Attempts to reach officials from the UAE and Chad for comment were unsuccessful.