Khartoum – Al-Yurae
A local official in the border town of Um Dafuq, located between Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), revealed that Russian forces stationed inside CAR have crossed into the Sudanese locality of Karkar a development marking a significant escalation in regional tensions.
According to the official, these Russian troops expelled police officers and administrative personnel affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the area, creating a new security reality and nullifying previous arrangements made between the RSF and local authorities in CAR.
This incursion comes amid rising border tensions and overlapping spheres of military influence, raising concerns over potential political and security repercussions in Sudan’s Darfur region and other frontier areas.
Local sources reported that the Russian “African Corps,” formerly known as the Wagner Group and now operating under Russia’s Ministry of Defense, has closed the main land route linking CAR and South Darfur a vital supply line for the RSF’s military and logistical operations in western Sudan.
The move follows a recent agreement between the RSF and local authorities in Birao, CAR, to reopen joint trade points aimed at easing the economic impact of restrictions imposed by northern Sudanese authorities loyal to the army, which had blocked the flow of goods into RSF-held territories in Darfur and parts of Kordofan.
Analysts describe the Russian deployment as a major shift in the border security landscape, questioning Khartoum’s ability to maintain sovereignty and stabilize the frontier amid growing foreign influence. The move also underscores the intensifying competition among regional and global powers in one of Africa’s most fragile zones.
Witnesses and border sources reported that Russian forces have deployed heavy military reinforcements and established fortified checkpoints along key crossings connecting CAR and western Sudan, leaving hundreds of commercial trucks stranded and heightening fears of worsening humanitarian and economic conditions for local communities.
According to reporting by Uganda Arabic News, the closure order came directly from Wagner’s command in Bangui, coinciding with a wider redeployment of Russian forces around Birao, near the tri-border area linking Sudan, Chad, and CAR a move seen as part of a broader strategic realignment.
Observers say the incursion underscores Moscow’s efforts to expand its military and political footprint in the region, strengthening its leverage over both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.
In December, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Sudan had offered Moscow a 25-year lease to establish its first-ever naval base in Africa, in Port Sudan, authorizing up to 300 personnel and four warships — including nuclear-powered vessels — in exchange for increased Russian investment in the country’s gold sector.
Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict between the army and the RSF since April 2023. Russia’s growing involvement now raises fears of a broader internationalization of the war and a deeper entanglement of external powers in Sudan’s internal crisis.
Al-Yurae + Local Sources and Agencies
