Who are the actors in Sudan's devastating war?

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 CONFLICT 

CAIRO - The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), vying for power in Sudan since April 2023, have been trading accusations of receiving support from foreign powers.

Over the course of the conflict, the United Nations has repeatedly called on member states to "refrain from any external interference" but to no avail.

Sudan's warring generals

Sudan's de facto leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan leads the army while the RSF is headed by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

In October 2021, Burhan along with Daglo, who was his deputy at the time, led a coup toppling the civilian-led transitional government which was set up following the 2019 ouster of longtime president Omar al-Bashir.

Tensions between the two generals later emerged, culminating in deadly fighting between their forces by mid-April 2023. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12 million and plunged the country into a major humanitarian crisis.

The RSF trace their origins to the Janjaweed militias, Arab camel and horse-mounted fighters accused by rights groups of atrocities during the 2003 conflict that erupted in the western region of Darfur.

Currently, the army governs Sudan from the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, with former UN official Kamil Idris serving as prime minister since May 2025.

The RSF has formed a rival parallel administration in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

This satellite image taken on October 26, 2025 shows smoke billowing from fires burning around El-Fasher Airport in El-Fasher. (AFP/Vantor)

External players

 EGYPT 

Sudan's neighbour to the north and a key backer of the Sudanese army considers Burhan the legitimate ruler of Sudan, regularly inviting him to Cairo.

The RSF has in the past accused Egypt of providing direct military support to Burhan's troops, an allegation Cairo consistently denies.

Analysts believe Cairo has benefitted from Saudi Arabia's support.

 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

The Sudanese army has accused the UAE of supporting the RSF with weapons and mercenaries, including Colombians, sent via Chad, Libya, Kenya or Somalia, by land or air.

The army-aligned government severed diplomatic ties with the Gulf country in May, accusing it in particular of supplying drones to the RSF.

Abu Dhabi has consistently denied any interference, despite evidence presented in UN reports and open-source investigations.

 LIBYA 

In June, the Sudanese army accused forces loyal to the strongman in eastern Libya, Khalifa Haftar, of supporting the RSF's victorious offensive in a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya.

Haftar has also been repeatedly accused of supplying weapons and fuel to the RSF on behalf of the UAE, allegations he denies.

 CHAD 

The Sudanese army has accused the regime of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno of serving as a crucial supply line for the RSF on behalf of Abu Dhabi. The alleged alliance, which Deby has always denied, has caused divisions within his clan and his army.

 TURKEY 

A major rival of the UAE, Turkey expressed its support for the Sudanese army from the outset of the war and, according to several media outlets including The Washington Post, provided drones used to strike RSF positions.

 IRAN 

Khartoum and Tehran restored diplomatic relations in October 2023 after a years-long rift. Since then, the RSF has accused Iran of supplying drones to the Sudanese army -- reports that have previously drawn US concerns.

 RUSSIA 

Under Bashir's three-decade rule, Sudan relied militarily on Russia and negotiated to build a Russian naval base on the Red Sea -- a deal that Moscow publicly announced in 2020.

In 2021, Sudan's military said the deal was "under review" but the issue has in recent months been on the agenda of high-level discussions, according to some Russian media.

The two countries have recently signed several bilateral military and economic cooperation agreements.

 KENYA 

In June, the army-aligned government based in Port Sudan claimed to have found weapons and ammunition labelled "Made in Kenya" in RSF caches in Khartoum.

It accused Nairobi of "promoting division" in Sudan by acting as a transit point for military equipment supplied by the UAE via Chad. In February, Nairobi hosted the founding meeting of the RSF's political branch.