Sudan’s Gold Smuggling Network Thrives Under RSF and Russian Influence

RSF in coordination with Russian-linked companies, operate secret airstrips in Darfur and Kordofan, exporting most of the country’s gold.

Sudan’s gold industry is increasingly dominated by clandestine operations run by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in collaboration with Russian-linked companies, according to local sources. Secret airstrips have been constructed near mining hubs in Darfur and South Kordofan, enabling the large-scale smuggling of gold to neighbouring states, Chad, the Central African Republic, and Gulf markets.

Local residents and mining officials, speaking under anonymity due to security concerns, say that the RSF has built roads and airstrips connecting key mines to logistics hubs for helicopter and light aircraft transport. According to one South Kordofan official, “RSF members escort gold bars in armed convoys to Talodi airstrip for aerial export.”

Scale of Smuggling

Estimates suggest that up to 70 per cent of Sudan’s annual gold production is smuggled abroad. Before the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, RSF reportedly controlled 65 per cent of Sudanese gold exports via Khartoum International Airport. During the transitional government of Abdalla Hamdok, RSF began issuing mining licences to private operators, consolidating its control over production and trade.

A 2023 investigation by CNN, titled “Moscow’s Plunder”, documented 16 secret flights from Khartoum and Port Sudan to Latakia, Syria, a Russian military hub, carrying Sudanese gold worth billions. Sources say Russian companies maintain dirt airstrips near mines to avoid risks associated with overland transport, and that they operate in partnership with the RSF.

Strategic Mining Sites

In South Kordofan’s Talodi region, RSF and the Russian firm Mero Gold control six major mines, including Tagoula, Hujairat, Abu Asabea, Taboula, Bashair, and Maridan. Gold is extracted using cyanide, producing nine times the yield of traditional artisanal methods, then cast into bars at RSF-controlled processing plants.

In Darfur, the RSF’s Al-Junaid Company oversees concessions spanning 2,000 km² in Songo, South Darfur. Gold extracted here is transported under armed escort to airstrips at Um Dafuq, near the Central African Republic border, some constructed by Russian engineers, from which it is flown onward. Previously, gold from Jebel Amer and Songo was exported via Chad and re-registered as Chadian gold at N’Djamena Airport.

Night Operations and Security Measures

Nyala Airport in South Darfur has emerged as a primary hub for air exports. Residents report heavy night-time flight traffic around 3 a.m., with trucks moving gold-laden cargo daily. Access to surrounding villages is tightly restricted, ensuring operational secrecy.

In 2020, a delegation from Al-Junaid, including RSF investment officials, a company engineer, and three foreign nationals (one Russian, two South African), flew from Khartoum to Nyala on a presidential jet before transferring to a helicopter for inspection of Songo mining sites, narrowly avoiding an accidental engagement by Sudanese army units.

Implications

The network illustrates the RSF’s consolidation of economic power and the complicity of external actors in Sudan’s gold economy, which sustains armed groups while circumventing international oversight. The system has broader geopolitical implications, facilitating resource flows to Russia and Gulf states amid sanctions and regional instability.

Reporting by Awad Mustafa