Gold is playing a critical role in funding the ongoing war in Sudan. Portable, with resources diffuse over the country’s territory, requiring relatively little investment to mine, and highly sought after, the commodity is a key resource for both sides in providing the resources and transnational connections that allow them to buy weapons and other supplies.
Gold’s importance is not new. Gold has been the country’s most valuable commodity, top export, and main source of foreign currency since the contraction of the oil sector following the secession of South Sudan in 2011. The Bashir regime exploited a gold rush that began around 2009-2010 and saw hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth descend on artisanal gold mining sites from all over Sudan and put considerable effort into developing the sector to enable it to compensate for the loss of oil revenue. In addition to exploiting artisanal production, the regime contracted a plethora of regional and international gold mining companies to prospect for gold and modernize the industry, aiming to shift production into a more regulated and controlled sector.
Since the outbreak of the devastating war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023, an estimated 10 million people have been displaced and there has been massive destruction of the economic infrastructure. In this context, it is unsurprising that gold has become a key focus of the belligerents’ income generation strategies.
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