The essay argues that economic desperation and militia profits help sustain Sudan’s war: a 2021 Soba factory shift paid 1,500 Sudanese pounds for 12 hours, versus an RSF offer of 15,000 a day, a uniform and a phone; one-room rent was 30,000 pounds monthly.
A Jebel Amer miner told the writer that the RSF took 30% of everything; the article says investigators later put the annual gold take above US$1 billion. Swissaid, using UAE trade figures, found Dubai imported 29 metric tons of gold from Sudan in 2024, up from 17 tons in 2023.
The article says the UN Security Council extended existing measures for one month on September 11, until October 9; Washington was pushing for a nationwide arms ban, while Moscow opposed expanding it. The author argues an embargo would not address the financial incentives for recruitment and proposes gold certification at refineries and sanctions on UAE-based entities and financial networks.
