How a Middle Eastern superpower is fuelling the Sudan war

There’s a rhythm to wartime atrocity. First come the warnings, ignored, dismissed. Then the whispers, the shaky videos, the satellite images that no one can quite believe. And finally, the horrific truth. That’s where we are today in el-Fasher, Sudan, where the militia calling itself the Rapid Support Forces is perpetrating a massacre that can literally be seen from space. The crime has refocused attention both on Sudan's war, and the RSF's regional backers. Who are they, and why are they bankrolling such bloodshed? And why is such a vast and visible atrocity drawing such a muted reaction from the international community? Battle Lines is joined by Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair from think tank Confluence Advisory and terrorism and conflict specialist Michael Jones from Royal United Services Institute.

A massacre visible from space: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/28/sudan-bloodied-sands-massacre-thousands/

Attack on El Fasher hospital: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/hundreds-die-in-el-fasher-hospital-massacre-darfur-sudan/

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Credit: AFP PHOTO / HO / SUDAN RAPID SUPPORT FORCES (RSF) TELEGRAM

https://linktr.ee/BattleLines

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

[email protected] 

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.