Transnational Ethno-Mercenarism and the Rapid Support Forces: The Arab Belt in Sudan and the Sahelian Security Crisis

Abstract

Issam AW Mohamed

The eruption of war in Sudan in April 2023, marked by battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the ethnically rooted Rapid Support Forces (RSF), signifies a pivotal shift in regional security. Notably, the RSF's recruitment of Arab fighters from the Baggara Belt, spanning Chad, Niger, and Libya, represents a new phenomenon—transnational ethno-mercenarism. This article investigates the historical, ecological, and political drivers underlying this mode of armed mobilization, distinguishing it from prior models of mercenarism and militia politics. Relying on first-hand field observations, institutional analysis, relevant literature, and a newly proposed game-theoretic framework, the study explores how clan networks, external patronage, and environmental pressures coalesce to produce robust, mobile, and market-driven armed groups. The implications for policy and international intervention are discussed.

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