Three Years Into Sudan’s Civil War, the Role of Gold in Sustaining the Conflict Has Come to the Forefront.
According to Roula Merhej, a geopolitics and international affairs journalist, the absence of state oversight has led to a state of collapse where civilians are unprotected. This situation has exacerbated the war’s economic drivers, with gold emerging as a pivotal factor. Merhej highlights that Sudan, a significant African gold producer, is selling its gold to Dubai.
The sale, however, is not conducted through conventional channels. Instead, it involves opaque and fragmented networks that are deeply intertwined with the war economy. She explains that Dubai purchases gold through informal means, often involving militias controlling mines.
The gold is then transported through several stages, including extraction in conflict zones and regional smuggling through countries like Chad and Libya.
The economic flows are not confined to informal mining and smuggling networks. They are also part of broader regional dynamics involving investment, infrastructure, and influence. For instance, Dubai plans to fund infrastructure development in the Central African Republic, utilizing opaque companies and cargo planes to supply the Rapid Support Forces in central Africa.
Despite the region’s intensity and complexity, it remains largely overlooked by the international community. Merhej notes that Africa’s strategic interest, particularly in terms of energy resources, is not as high as, for example, Iran’s, leading to less attention from the media and international bodies.
The dynamics of the conflict are evolving, taking on less visible forms. Merhej points out that these aren’t conventional wars, and indirect mechanisms, including economic flows and parallel networks, are fueling the conflict.
The involvement of front companies in supplying weapons and gold, which are then reinjected into the economy, makes tracing the origins of these transactions nearly impossible.
In conflicts without clear front lines, networks continue to operate behind the scenes.
The circulation of gold, weapons, and front companies contributes to the self — sustaining nature of the conflict.
As long as this economic and political web remains unbroken, the Sudanese civil war is likely to persist.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
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By This original article was produced by the ImNews editorial team
Source: Africanews
Source: Serge Patrick MANKOU
