Sudanese military conscript-dependent and poorly equipped: experts

LONDON, Aug 2 (AFP) — Sudan’s army, which has promised to fight any foreign military intervention in the embattled region of Darfur, is increasingly reliant on conscripts equipped with often shoddy equipment, experts say.

According to the authoritative British-based Jane’s World Armies publication, Sudan’s land army around is 90,000-strong, of whom 25,000 are conscripts.

All Sudanese males aged 18 to 30 are obliged to undertake at least three years of national service, with around 20,000 conscripts in uniform at any one time and another 5,000 being trained.

However recruitment has been hit by differences between the north and south of the country, which have fought each other in civil war for much of Sudan’s 48 years of independence.

“Over the years the army has been beset by recruitment problems as northern Sudanese become increasingly reluctant to fight in the south,” the Jane’s World Armies chapter on Sudan said.

“The ranks of the army are believed to have been swelled with southerners pressed into service,” it added, noting that there were other internal troubles.

“Soldiers have also protested over delays in pay. The army has also been weakened by political purges, internal divisions and widespread corruption.”

The army is equipped with around 350 battle tanks and 25 light tanks, as well as various reconnaissance vehicles, troop carriers and self-propelled artillery, Jane’s said.

The much smaller air force, with around 3,000 personnel, has 44 combat planes and 28 attack helicopters, although it is unknown how many of these are airworthy.

Military equipment comes from a wide variety of suppliers, and is generally in bad condition.

“The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are armed with a wide variety of equipment, often in a poor state of repair from a range of suppliers,” the report said.

“Oil revenues promise to improve the situation and emphasis has initially been placed upon boosting stocks of battlefield armour, long-range artillery and attack helicopters, mainly from Russia.”

Sudan’s defence budget in 2002 was estimated to be around 600 million dollars (500 million euros), or about 4.4 percent of its gross domestic product, Jane’s said.