Sudan's warring factions are financing their conflict with stolen gold and gum arabic, according to a new report from the United Nations human rights office. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights verified that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces depend heavily on these commodities to bankroll operations.
Gum arabic, derived from acacia tree stems and branches, serves multiple industries spanning food, beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The commodity underpins livelihoods for roughly five million Sudanese across the country.
Before conflict erupted in April 2023, Sudan dominated global gum arabic exports, controlling 70 to 80 per cent of worldwide supply. Annual exports were valued at up to $183 million.
The RSF militia seized at least 3,700 tons of gum arabic between January and June 2024, the UN confirmed. In May 2025, fighters raided major stocks from El-Nuhud trading centre in West Kordofan and moved them to Darfur and Chad.
The stolen goods functioned as compensation for RSF fighters who weren't receiving regular salaries, according to UN findings. This practice highlights how natural resources have become weaponised in the conflict.
Ordinary traders face severe hardship across Sudan's commercial networks. Those operating in RSF-controlled western and central areas endure confiscation, illegal taxation, arbitrary detention, looting, and extortion from both sides.
Merchants navigating northern and eastern routes toward Port Sudan encounter multiple checkpoints and informal levies. Cross-border smuggling operations route products through Chad, Egypt, Kenya, and Libya.
The UN human rights office condemned how Sudan's vast natural wealth has been diverted from its people. "Sudan's vast wealth of natural resources should benefit its people," spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters.
"What we are seeing today is anything but that."
The OHCHR called for urgent international action to dismantle the war economy fuelling the conflict. The agency urged the global community to monitor commodities and trade routes sustaining the violence.
Experts warn that without intervention, resource-driven warfare will prolong Sudan's humanitarian catastrophe. The looting continues to inflict immense suffering across the nation.
