Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read | 05 December 2025

Urgent questions are being raised about Europe’s role in unintentionally fuelling Sudan’s devastating civil conflict, after revelations that millions in EU migration-control funds may have strengthened the very paramilitary forces now driving the war.

According to former Diplomat and International Relations Analyst Zeenat Adam, the European Union cannot credibly claim ignorance of the risks associated with its financial commitments. “I don’t think that any EU country can claim not to have understood the circumstances within Sudan at the time or even what the consequences would have become,” Adam explained in an interview with Radio Islam International.

The funding formed part of the Khartoum Process, an initiative launched at the height of what the EU viewed as a migration crisis. The aim was to curb the movement of African migrants into Europe after major upheavals in Syria, Libya, and across the region. “Their agenda simply was to prevent people from coming to their country,” she noted.

Adam highlighted that €200 million – today valued at over $232 million was allocated not only for training but also for material resources. “A lot of those weapons are now being utilised by the paramilitary forces within Sudan in perpetrating the civil war that we currently see,” she said, pointing to the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) expanded firepower.

Compounding concerns is evidence of broader international involvement. Investigations by Amnesty International and others reveal that arms used by Sudan’s militias include “French-made defence systems mounted upon UAE-made vehicles,” indicating a supply chain linking Europe, the UAE, and ultimately Sudan’s armed actors. This, Adam said, shows “some cooperation in terms of a product that is moving from the European Union to the UAE and then finding its way into Sudan.”

Adam stressed that real accountability has yet to begin. “Up until now no one has even said that this needs to be an admission on the part of the EU that they funded Sudan and there has been no accountability called,” she stated. Attempts to pursue action against the UAE at the ICJ have, so far, “fallen through.”

With global attention diverted by other crises, the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan has deepened with little intervention. “This war has been going on for two years… and there has been very little in terms of mobilization,” Adam warned.

Even the African Union appears ineffective. While traditionally positioned to champion “African solutions,” Adam described “an absolute weakness in terms of addressing the situation in Sudan,” complicated further by the number of international actors involved.

As the conflict continues, the call for transparency, responsibility, and coordinated action grows increasingly urgent.

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Zeenat Adam.