RSF fighters with Chinese-made FN-6 systems. Via Twitter.
Russia’s Wagner Group has supplied anti-aircraft missiles to the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) in Sudan, the United States Department of Treasury said on May 25.
The accusations came in a statement announcing new U.S. sanctions against the head of Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali, Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov.
“Most recently in Sudan, the Wagner Group has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces with surface-to-air missiles to fight against Sudan’s army, contributing to a prolonged armed conflict that only results in further chaos in the region,” the statement reads.
Earlier this week, the US declassified information claiming that Wagner is trying to procure weapons from Africa, specifically Mali, for use in the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine. No evidence was presented to back these accusations, however.
The RSF has been battling the Sudanese military for dominance in the capital, Khartoum, and other parts of the country since mid-April. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 800 people and wounded dozens others, according to medical sources.
A fragile ceasefire brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia last week decreased clashes between the army and the RSF in Sudan, but has so far failed to bring it to a full halt. Russia maintains a neutral stance over the conflict.
The Sudanese Air Force, which remained loyal to the army, targets the RSF on a regular basis. On May 24, a fighter jet crashed near the city of Omdurman. The paramilitary force alleged that it was shot down by its fighters. Eyewitnesses confirmed later that the jet was hit by anti-aircraft gunfire.
RSF is known to be equipped with anti-aircraft missiles. Several U.S.-made AN/TWQ-1 Avenger short-range systems and Chinese-made FN-6 man-portable systems were spotted with the force in recent weeks. However, these systems were allegedly supplied by the United Arab Emirates, not Wagner. The group does not even possess these systems.
A photo showing a U.S.-made AN/TWQ-1 Avenger that the Sudanese army allegedly captured from the RSF in the early days of the conflict in Sudan. Via Twitter.
Wagner maintains a large presence in Mali and several other African nations to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups under legitimate contracts.
The group’s success in Ukraine, including its recent victory over U.S.-backed Kiev forces in the strategic city of Bakhmut, has apparently triggered Washington which is now attempting to counter its growing influence in Africa and other parts of the world.
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emirati-backed groups are making the same type of terrorism like the qatari-backed groups. these groups are opposite to each other. uae support rsf while qatar supports hts and groups like that. also, there is the conflict between iranian-backed groups and saudi-backed groups, however, saudi-backed groups have lost in syria, libya and iraq and are losing badly in yemen. now we will see what will happen in syria.
the turkish-backed groups are in the north and they fight only against sdf. iran also dislikes sdf but assad likes them. turkey uses hts as bargaining chip against assad. turkey says that assad can hit hts only if we are let to hit sdf. we also see that countries like egypt, saudi arabia, iraq and uae also support assad government but different groups.
egypt supports the militarists (saa and saf in sudan), saudi arabia supports the madkhalis, uae supports the radical secularists (like sdf, stc in yemen, lna in libya, stc in yemen) and iraq (jordan also) supports the moderates. russia also is in the same side with egypt and to an extent uae, turkey supports muslim brotherhood and iran supports hezbollah aka the shia muslim brotherhood.
if something is not done, especially by outsiders like russia, china, india and other forces like africa union and arab league, the region will be in flames again. many states are in a state of a new civil war that it is breeding. and now isis and aq are mostly gone so the new trend will be separatism.
grupo wagner envie mísseis anti-aéreos ao hamas na faixa de gaza e ao hezbollah no líbano. poderosíssimo grupo wagner, ajude a causa palestina! mande mísseis aos palestinos, por favor invencíveis wagners.
i guess if they are supplying them american made missiles………….then america should control their missiles better. i suspect its more that the ukrainians are selling them the weapons.
well, the us of fn a must be right ; they are experts in creating chaos after all ….
the us also claims that russia blew up nordstream; that saddam had wmd; and that plane impacts and jet fuel fires lead to gravity induced total collapse of three steel framed sky scrapers.