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culiyesterday at 12:55 AM0 repliesview on HN

Yes, to clarify the primary international players:

Russia: initially supported the RSF, then at one point was trading with both sides, and in 2024/2025 fully switched sides to back the SAF

Iran: stayed out of it until 2024 when it finally backed the SAF which caused a major turning point in the conflict

UAE/the US: the main player responsible for RSF's rise. It hired out RSF mercenaries to fight the Houthis in Yemen. At one point there were more than 40,000 RSF mercenaries (mostly between the ages of 14-17) in Yemen. It continues to be the primary funder of the RSF

Israel: the RSF buys surveillance tech and weapons from Israel

Saudi Arabia: the largest smuggler of (illegally acquired) gold from RSF. A major source of funding for the RSF

China: doesn't directly deal with either side but Chinese-made weapons were found in the hands of the RSF mostly through the UAE reselling them. The SAF also has some Chinese made weapons through Russia and Turkey

tl;dr: it's a very complex disaster but international players simply don't have an interest in ending it. The SAF is the main opposition to the genocidal RSF, but they are also uninterested in maintaining the democracy that the people fought for and the sides backing the SAF (mostly Iran, and now Russia) are likely hoping to continue their exploitation of gold if they defeat the RSF