Chad has firmly rejected allegations that its territory is being used as a transit hub in a transnational network supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), following a United Nations report.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said on September 3 that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that private actors and logistical facilitators operating from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and Somalia’s Puntland region have enabled the movement of weapons, personnel and military technology to RSF-held areas.
According to the fact-finding mission, witnesses and other sources identified specific logistics corridors passing through Bosaso in Puntland; Benghazi, Kufra and Jufra in Libya; and remote parts of Chad.
Investigators reported that these routes were used to move artillery, air-defense systems, armored vehicles, ammunition, drones, uniforms and medical supplies toward RSF strongholds including Nyala in Darfur.
The panel stressed that it was not accusing the Chadian state of organizing or backing the network, but said private entities and transnational facilitators had exploited sparsely monitored areas for transit and logistics.
The UN mission documented extensive foreign involvement in RSF operations, and also found that up to 2,000 former Colombian military contractors had been deployed to operate combat drones, artillery and other advanced weapons alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan. Some of these contractors allegedly transited through Chad before reaching Sudan, where they helped operate and maintain complex military systems.
Chad’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Makaila Ahmad, told Reuters the accusations were “false,” reaffirming the country’s “strict neutrality” and saying it had strengthened border controls to prevent arms trafficking.
Chad also told UN investigators that it had no information indicating weapons, drones or military equipment were being moved across its territory and that it had tightened border surveillance to block arms flows and the movement of armed groups. Nonetheless, the mission urged Chad to investigate the reported activities and reinforce border monitoring to disrupt illicit transit.
The report comes as the UAE also denied any military, logistical, financial or political support to the RSF, calling the allegations unfounded.
Sudan’s government repeatedly accuses Chad and Ethiopia of backing the paramilitary RSF, while both nations deny the charges. The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, triggering a vast regional humanitarian crisis.
