In May 2025, a news report revealed that the RSF militia in Sudan broke into warehouses and looted $75 million worth of gum arabic when it seized Al-Nuhod city. However, this was not an isolated case. The militia has been using several illegal methods to exploit this invaluable agricultural asset to sustain itself and fund its ongoing war in the country. 

In April 2023, war broke out in Sudan between the national army and the rebellious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. The conflict has had devastating consequences, displacing millions, killing thousands, and causing widespread destruction of infrastructure and buildings. As the war intensified, the RSF militia gained control over most of the gum arabic supply in western Sudan—a critical ingredient used by American companies in soft drinks like Pepsi and Coca-Cola, as well as in pharmaceutical products. Faced with this new reality and the militia’s terms, these companies have had to adapt. However, for both practical and ethical reasons, the West should adopt a strategic stance that supports a scenario in which the national army defeats the militia and ensures a stable and secure supply of gum arabic from Sudan

The RSF emerged primarily from the 2013 restructuring of the notorious Janjaweed militia. Its goal was to support the central government’s counterinsurgency operations in Darfur and South Kordofan. In 2017, the Sudanese parliament passed a law legitimizing its activities, over the years, the RSF militia committed countless crimes and atrocities during the ongoing war, including the destruction of villages, the killing of protesters, sexual violations and rape, mass killings, unlawful detentions, the targeting of hospitals and churches, and attacks on journalists and media institutions, 

In Darfur, the militia and allied militias committed horrible genocide and massacres against the non-Arabic tribes. Thousands of Maslait tribes were killed and buried alive, and refugee camps are attacked daily. In addition to putting El-Fasher city, the last haven for refugees in the region, under siege for months. 

To wage such a large-scale war and remain powerful, the militia has relied on a strong political economy from various sources, including exporting smuggled Sudanese gold to other countries and receiving funding and logistical support from the EU, which aims to control immigration. The militia has also been obtaining generous direct financial and military support from the UAE, in addition to benefiting from fighting in the Yemen war. 

Recently, the militia started to rely on Gum arabic as a new source of funding for its operations.

According to published data, Sudan is the world’s largest producer of gum Arabic, accounting for approximately 80% of the global trade. Before the war, gum Arabic would be exported to Port Sudan, east of the country to be processed before shipping to the world’s markets. A recent report revealed that two French operators, Nexira and Alland & Robert, account for over half of Sudan’s gum arabic production between them.

The RSF militia now controls most of the areas in where the acacia tree that the gum Arabic is harvested from, the UN experts estimated that the ongoing war has led to a loss of at least 90,000 tons of gum arabic worth $200 million, another reports show that the militia is forcing farmers to pay high fees to smuggle it to neighboring countries such as Chad, CAR, and South Sudan and  Kenya whose government maintains strong relations with the militia by backing it with arms and hosting its parallel government. The smuggled gum arabic is then reexported to Europe without showing its conflict-free or not, given the high value of gum arabic and the need for it, the miltia found in it a new source of income to operate. 

Given the mass killing, looting, and destruction that the RSF militia caused across the country, it’s evident that the militia leadership has no full control over its members, this shows how even the flow of smuggling gum Arabic is not sustainable and very soon we will see fragmented parts of the militia vying over this process to gain easy and quick profit instead of low salaries paid by the militia. 

Instead of succumbing to the fragile de facto situation, these Western companies should push 

their governments to back up a scenario where the Sudanese army retakes all the areas currently occupied by the militia and restore the state authority, This will bring back stability and security to the Gum Arabic production and supply lines, and considering the ethical factor, the militia will be blocked from accessing to an invaluable sources that is funding its next genocide in Darfur. 

Countries that facilitate illicit smuggling network should be pressured to abstain from this practice.

---