[On November 6, 2025, the National Interest Foundation hosted an event titled “Sudan War and Foreign Meddling” regarding the latest developments surrounding the war in Sudan and the foreign meddling in the conflict. The discussion was moderated by Khaled Saffuri, President of NIF. The following is a summary of our takeaways from the program and is not an attempt at a transcript. The entire event may be viewed here.]
H.E. Mohamed Abdalla Idris, Ambassador of Sudan to the United States. The RSF are the same forces as the Janjawed militias that committed genocide in Darfur in 2000-3. They were not held to account, and they repeat it now to take the land of five African ethnic groups. One is the Zuga, a word which means “blacks.” They target youth, whom they see as future enemies and women because the RSF seek to destroy the familial infrastructure of their targets. They also target suspected members of the Sudanese armed forces, who are executed immediately. They also target the internally displaced persons. There is now an orchestrated process of replacing those killed or displaced with RSF ethnic groups, assisted by foreign mercenaries. Very few people now fleeing from El-Fasher are reaching the IDP camps. They are killed or perish in flight. The RSF has rejected the UN resolution of June 2024 demanding a lifting of the siege and the international community has responded only with lip service. The RSF is a terrorist group and should be so designated, and their regional enablers called to account; the UAE which is taking the gold of Sudan to make itself the largest gold market in the world.
H.E. Dr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed, former Ambassador of Sudan to the United States, currently Associate Professor of Political Science at the International University of Africa. We suffer a lot from an erroneous narrative. This is not a civil war. It is an aggression led by the United Arab Emirates. Foreign forces seek easy access to the resources of the Sudan. It is called “the Sudan” as short for Bilad as-Sudan “the land of the Sudan” which was the Arabic name for the region. In 1956 it became the Republic of Sudan. Arabic is the language of all seventy ethnic groups. A multi-party system was restored after the overthrow of the military dictator Gaafer Nimeiri in 1985. A smooth transition to democratic rule after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir on 2019 was interrupted by the introduction of foreign actors (most of whom were undemocratic): the “Quad,” the African Union, etc. This intervention led to the war in the country.
Khalid Saffuri. Sudan was one of four Arab countries to sign the Abraham Accord, but the only one not to be rewarded for doing so. The others are all U.S. allies.
Idris. Sudan received nothing. We have the same question.
Ahmed. The UAE had a very good relationship with the Bashir regime. He sent troops to support the UAE and Saudi efforts in the war in Yemen. I was present for the very rare U.S. success in facilitating the peace agreement between the north and south Sudan. Since 1981 the annual reports on terrorism confirmed Sudan is free of participation in any kind of terrorism. Yet, on October 11, 2025, the Quad declared that the future of Sudan should be free from the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. But in a democracy the people should be free to select their leaders. The United States needs to do its homework and look to its own interest rather than those of its allies in the region. There has never been any animosity between the Sudanese people and the American people. There is no reason for this kind of treatment.
Question. Are Egypt and Saudi Arabia part of the problem or potential contributors to the problem?
Idris. Egypt has a positive role and Sudanese refugees are treated like Egyptians with no refugee camps. Hundreds of refugees are hosted in Saudi Arabia and they play a positive role as well. And with the current administration of the United States there is something on the table, for which we are grateful. With transparency and objectivity we can move forward.
Question. Comment on the role of Khalifa Haftar of Libya, who has used Sudanese militias and is a pawn in the Emerati hands.
Ahmed. In the past week Spain stopped ten shiploads of weapons from the UAE to Sudan. I think Hafter has played a major role since 2000.
Question. Are there pockets of current or potential support for the RSF that drive the narrative that it is a civil war?
Idris. The RSF used to be a unit of the Sudanese Armed Forces that decided on the 15th of April 2003 to take up arms against the Sudanese government to overthrow the government and assume power. The foreign mercenaries coming in to take the land of the Sudanese people should be called “settlers.”
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
Minaret of Freedom Institute
wwww.minaret.org
Leave a Reply