Regional Networks, Local Wars

How Cross-Border Recruitment is Dragging the Horn into Sudan’s Conflict

Recent media reports have drawn renewed attention to the regional dimensions of the war in Sudan, linking military training camps in Somalia to the deployment of new fighters to the conflict. The reports also implicate Saudi Arabia as overseeing military training programs, alongside claims of young people being smuggled from Ethiopia’s Tigray region to fight in Sudan. Other reports have linked these developments to the reactivation of networks affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood within Sudan’s armed forces.

According to multiple reports that monitor developments in the Horn of Africa and Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia is overseeing a military training program in Somalia aimed at preparing recruits who are later deployed to fight alongside Sudan’s armed forces. The training program based in Somalia’s Galguduud region reportedly involves more than 5,000 Somali recruits, and is being conducted by foreign military contractors from Romania, Ukraine, South Africa and Colombia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) recently told the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) that networks are recruiting young people from the Tigray region, including minors, and smuggling them across the border to participate in the war in Sudan.

The PM warned that these networks are exploiting the region’s humanitarian and economic conditions to recruit young people before sending them into a conflict unrelated to them, describing the practice as a security and humanitarian challenge extending beyond Ethiopia’s borders.

In its analysis of these developments, The Sudan Times argued that the continuation of the war has enabled networks affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood to re-establish themselves within Sudan’s military establishment. The newspaper pointed to formations including the al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade and said these groups are seeking to restore their political and military influence by taking advantage of the ongoing conflict.

The Sudan Times also argued that the reported recruitment of fighters from outside Sudan is part of broader efforts to reinforce Sudan’s armed forces with new personnel and reshape the country’s balance of power as the war continues and expands.

Meanwhile, other reports indicate affirm that the training programs in Somalia are funded by Saudi Arabia and that some recruits undergoing training may eventually be deployed to Sudan’s battlefronts. The outlet said the programs raise questions about the role of regional actors in the Sudanese conflict and about which parties may benefit from the arrival of additional fighters.

Collectively, the reports suggest that the emergence of training camps in Somalia alongside recruitment networks in Ethiopia’s Tigray region reflects what they describe as an effort to establish cross-border supply lines of fighters for the war in Sudan. These accounts indicate that the conflict is increasingly extending beyond Sudan’s borders and becoming part of a more complex regional network.

The reports argue that these developments are linked to attempts by Islamist groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood to restore their influence within Sudan, taking advantage of the prolonged conflict and the support networks cited in other media reports. No official comment has been issued by the parties concerned regarding these claims.

Taken together, the reports portray a conflict that, according to the accounts cited, is no longer confined to military confrontation within Sudan but increasingly relies on cross-border recruitment and training networks. In this evolving regional geopolitical landscape comprising the Horn of Africa, the gulf and beyond; military objectives intersect with regional interests, adding to the complexity of the conflict and increasing its humanitarian toll across the Horn of Africa.

Natnael Gecho is researcher and investigative journalist.

Contributed by Natnael Gecho