U.S. Warns Sudan's Warring Generals Against Hiring Wagner Mercenaries

The United States has warned Sudan's warring army and Rapid Support Forces not to involve the Wagner Group in resurgent fighting racking the nation, as Washington, D.C. continues its efforts to evacuate thousands of American citizens.

More than 1,000 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from the country since fighting broke out in mid-April, some by flights out of the capital Khartoum and others via the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Tuesday that the government has "messaged and communicated with approximately 5,000 U.S. citizens in Sudan" over the course of the crisis.

The warring factions on Tuesday agreed to a 72-hour extension of a ceasefire, though this has not prevented continued clashes.

As fighting continues, the State Department told Newsweek it has warned both sides—the Sudanese army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF paramilitaries led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—not to turn to Russian Wagner Group mercenaries operating in Sudan.

"The Wagner Group is a destabilizing influence wherever they deploy," a State Department spokesperson told Newsweek. "The security and safety of U.S. citizens is our utmost priority. We have communicated to the leaders of Sudan and the surrounding states, the inadvisability of allowing the Wagner Group to enter into this conflict."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously expressed "concern" over possible Wagner involvement in Sudan. "Its engagement simply brings more death and destruction with it," he said in April.

Wagner—led by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin—has been operating in Sudan since the time of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled by mass protests in 2019. Bashir had sought Russian support for his regime and oversaw expanded Russian access to Sudan's extensive gold mines.

Since then, the Meroe Gold company, owned by the Russian company M Invest, has been bringing Russian experts into Sudan to help extract gold. Meroe Gold and M Invest were both sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020 when the Treasury Department said firms were fronts for the Wagner Group.

A CNN report from July 2022 identified at least 16 flights of a military plane carrying gold from Sudan to Latakia, a Syrian port city home to a major Russian military base. The gold, CNN said, was intended to help fund Moscow's war on Ukraine.

The European Union subsequently also sanctioned Meroe Gold, saying in a statement: "Through its affiliation with the Sudanese army, the Wagner Group has secured the right to mine Sudanese gold and export it to Russia."

Samuel Ramani, the author of Russia in Africa, told Newsweek that Wagner has "largely concentrated on the gold mines," though added they have maintained some presence "nationwide." Some reports have suggested a Wagner presence in Port Sudan, which has become the focal point for American evacuation efforts.

The State Department spokesperson told Newsweek of the reported Wagner presence in Port Sudan: "We are aware of unconfirmed reports that this is the case. There are a number of private security companies operating for-profit extraction operations which may have been mistaken for Wagner."

As to whether U.S. officials have made any contact with any Wagner personnel, the spokesperson said: "The U.S. government communicates with Yevgeny Prigozhin and his criminal enterprise only through sanctions and indictments."

Port Sudan is a major export hub and has also been touted as the site for a future Russian naval base, which is slated to host around 300 troops. In exchange, Russia will provide Sudan with weapons and other military equipment.

Ramadi said it is "too early" to say for sure "what kinds of operations they are doing in Port Sudan, if they are there," referring to the Wagner Group. "They probably aren't really up to that much in terms of the base construction. So, I think we should be watching the goldmines more than the port."

"The Wagner Group really wants to guarantee security access to the goldmines," Ramadi said, smuggling from which is helping fund its operations in Ukraine and build Prigozhin's power base at home.

"I don't think Wagner is going to be that big a player in terms of shaping the outcome," Ramadi said of the ongoing struggle in Sudan, suggesting Prigozhin is more focused on Ukraine and opportunities elsewhere in Africa.

Prigozhin has repeatedly denied any recent Wagner presence in Sudan through statements posted to his Concord Telegram channel. "Wagner PMC employees have not been in Sudan for more than two years," he said last month. Prigozhin has also denied reports that Wagner has provided weapons to the RSF for use against their domestic rivals.

"Companies associated with Yevgeny Prigozhin also have no financial interests in Sudan. This conflict is a purely internal Sudanese affair, and any attempt by any media outlets, representative offices of foreign states and other players to involve Wagner PMC or Yevgeny Prigozhin in this issue is nothing more than an attempt to fish in troubled waters or to defend one of the parties for manipulation of facts."

"If Wagner PMC was there, I think that the war would not have started in Sudan," Prigozhin said in another post. "PMC Wagner does not start wars, it always ends them."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.