A new Lighthouse Reports investigation has brought to light new evidence of the United Arab Emirates' role in sustaining Sudan's civil war by backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through a covert logistics and training network based in eastern Libya. The report draws on social media analysis, geolocation data, satellite imagery, and witness interviews to trace alleged RSF-linked camps, convoy routes, and transfers of weapons and fuel between Libya and Sudan. The investigation identified four previously unknown RSF staging areas in Libya, including one near Benghazi. RSF defectors described training alongside Libyan National Army soldiers and UAE-contracted Colombian mercenaries before being sent back to Sudan.

RSF and LNA officials denied the investigation's findings. Limited international action has allowed the apparent Emirati involvement in the war to increase, the report said, with devastating consequences for civilians, particularly in Darfur, and for Sudanese refugees fleeing through Libya.

From The New Humanitarian, July 3. Lightly edited. Internal links added.

Note: The LNA is not answerable to Libya's internationally recognized government in Tripoli but the breakaway regime of warlord Khalifa Haftar in the east.