On 26 June, local Sudanese reports revealed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have received a new shipment of weapons through the border triangle connecting Sudan, Libya and Egypt. Libyan armed groups reportedly transported the weapons to the RSF through the triangle area, after which the RSF moved them to Darfur. The shipment likely included anti-aircraft systems, jamming devices and missiles capable of intercepting drones. This coincides with a recent surge in cargo flights from the UAE to Kufra Airport. Open-source satellite imagery shows a consistent average of around two IL-76 aircraft and at least one AN-26 per day between 15 and 25 June.
The arms transfer coincided with the recent appearance of RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), alongside several RSF troops, in an undisclosed area of Darfur. In his speech, Hemedti noted that his forces’ control of the al-Awainat triangle could provide ‘a positive contribution to Sudan’s neighbours’ by securing the borders. In fact, the Sudanese Minister of Youth and Sports and former Ambassador to Tripoli, Haj Majid Suwar, has claimed that this meeting between Hemedti and his troops did not take place inside Sudanese territory as claimed, but rather on the Libyan side of the border.