Ethiopia is hosting a secret military training camp for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a move that marks Ethiopia’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war.
The camp, located in western Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, near the border with Sudan, has a capacity of up to 10,000 fighters and is providing training to 4,300 RSF fighters as of early January. Satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts support claims of the camp hosting thousands of fighters and extensive logistics.
The UAE denies involvement, but Ethiopian and diplomatic sources, along with satellite images, indicate substantial support for the camp.
The camp’s recruits are mainly Ethiopians, but citizens from South Sudan and Sudan are also present.
The recruits are expected to join the RSF battling Sudanese soldiers in Blue Nile, which has emerged as a front in the struggle for control of Sudan.
The Sudanese Armed Forces has previously accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons, a claim UN experts and US lawmakers have found credible.
The development underscores the complex web of international involvement in Sudan’s conflict, with regional powers and global actors backing opposing sides.
Sudan’s civil war erupted in 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, causing widespread famine and displacement.
