“The wars in Sudan and South Sudan are increasingly intertwined”

Comments on the war in South Sudan, EFE Agency, 4 April 2025

“The wars in Sudan and South Sudan are increasingly intertwined, and each side is likely to support armed actors in the other territory,” I tell Spanish media.

…

Kurtz says that although “there is no solid evidence” that the Sudanese Army supports the White Army or groups linked to the South Sudanese opposition, “there are strong historical ties” between the Sudanese military and Machar.

However, he points out that the Sudanese Army “has an interest in preventing the South Sudanese government from allowing the RSF to operate in South Sudanese territory and receive weapons” through the neighbouring country, especially after the agreement between the paramilitaries and SPLM-N, Kiir’s ally.

The Sudanese military dome is also concerned about the opening of an UAE hospital in Madhol, in northern South Sudan, as they “suspect it could be used as a concentration point for RSF supplies, as well as for the treatment of its soldiers,” as happened with the Emirati medical centre in Amdjarass (Chad).

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Although the expert points to a growing interconnection of both crises, he recalls that “neither the Sudanese or South Sudanese parties have much resources, they are unlikely to act as major material sponsors.”

Added to this is Uganda’s participation and the influence of the Emirates in the area, so “it is absolutely possible that the conflict will become increasingly regional.”

“But we are not seeing two clear blocks, but rather a complex tangle of contradictions,” he says.