SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Independent – ‘It’s our biggest employer’: How a lucrative war in Yemen fuels conflict in Darfur 2,000km away
Sudanese Rapid Support Forces soldiers who fought in Yemen said that the war is the only way out of poverty for those in Darfur.
While Sudanese minimum wage is $190 a month, RSF soldiers can earn £17,000 for six-months in Yemen, with officers making double. Child soldiers can also make around £8,000.
Consequently, even those resentful of the RSF for alleged crimes committed against their communities are desperate to enlist, as reflected in recruitment centres receiving 10 times the number of applications relative to available places, RSF middlemen have emerged, charging £1,400 to speed up applications, but the RSF allegedly prefers enlisting Arab tribesmen, fuelling tensions in Darfur.
Ismail Kharif, an internally displaced person, expressed concern that RSF are returning from Yemen “better equipped, trained and financed, ready to kill our people.”
The malaria and dengue fever outbreaks in North Darfur have been attributed to soldiers returning from Yemen.