A close-up view of the Russian Ilyushin-76 fighter jet at al-Jufra air base in Libya on April 16, 2023.
Maxar Technologies
London
CNN.
A closeup view of Russia’s Ilyushin-76 transport plane at Libya’s al-Jufra airbase on April 16, 2023.
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The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to help them fight against the country’s forces, as Sudanese diplomatic and regional sources told CNN.
The sources said that the rockets in the air have largely defeated the fighters of the RSF and their leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, while fighting with Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military commander and head of the armed forces.
On the Libyan border, where the Wagner-backed general, Khalifa Haftar, controls much of the territory, satellite imagery supports this claim, showing an unusual increase in the activity of Wagner bases.
Sudan-gold_Soviet flag-05
The European Union has imposed sanctions on a company Wagner in Sudan after CNN investigated gold mining.
Russia’s powerful mercenary group has played a significant role in Moscow’s foreign military campaigns, namely Ukraine, and has often been accused of committing atrocities. In Africa, it has helped promote Moscow’s growing influence and control of resources.
Dagalo and Burhan were jockeying for power in negotiations to restore Sudan’s civilian leadership before the talks broke down, erupting in some of the country’s worst violence in decades.
This war has claimed the lives of hundreds of people, and millions of people have lost electricity, water and food.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council and army chief, attends the signing ceremony of the peace and ceasefire agreement in Juba, South Sudan October 21, 2019 REUTERS/Samir Bol .
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council and army chief, attends the signing ceremony of the peace and ceasefire agreement in Juba, South Sudan October 21, 2019 REUTERS/Samir Bol .
Samir Bol/Reuters
Satellite images show increased activity
Satellite images analyzed by CNN and the open-source group “All Eyes on Wagner” show a single Russian jet targeting two key bases owned by Haftar’s Libyan air force and used by the Russian warplanes. under sanctions.
Haftar has supported the RSF, sources say, although he has denied siding with them. Wagner’s increased activity in Haftar’s bases, along with Sudanese claims and regional diplomatic sources, suggest that both Russia and Libya in general may be preparing to support the RSF even before violence erupts.
