UN warns Sudan conflict spilling into South Sudan as smuggled arms breach embargo
Since late 2024, South Sudanese security forces have intercepted an alarming number of modern Turkish-made rifles, some equipped with advanced optical scopes, far more sophisticated than the typical arms found in the region.
The civil war in Sudan has escalated beyond a domestic crisis, with serious regional implications.
A confidential UN report submitted to the Security Council on July 1, 2025, reveals that looted weapons from Sudan’s capital are fuelling cross-border violence in South Sudan, violating a longstanding international arms embargo.
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Since late 2024, South Sudanese security forces have intercepted an alarming number of modern Turkish-made rifles, some equipped with advanced optical scopes, far more sophisticated than the typical arms found in the region.
Among the recovered weapons are BRG 55s, MKA 556s manufactured by HUSAN Arms, and several models from UTAS Defence. According to the Sudan Tribune, these firearms were traced back to stockpiles looted by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their offensive in Khartoum.
Smuggling networks are exploiting porous border regions, especially through Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and the disputed Abyei area.
The UN report details a two-way illicit economy in which weapons and stolen goods are traded for essentials like fuel and food, sustaining both Sudan’s war effort and South Sudan’s internal instability.
Fragile arrangement
This fragile arrangement came under strain in early 2025 when Sudanese government forces retook the city of Wad Madani.
Graphic videos circulated online, allegedly showing South Sudanese fighters executed for aiding the RSF. The footage sparked nationwide outrage in South Sudan and retaliatory attacks on Sudanese nationals.
In response, the government in Juba condemned the executions as acts of terrorism, but also deployed security forces to protect Sudanese civilians, earning international praise for its restraint.
Tensions rose further in December 2024 when South Sudan unexpectedly released the long-delayed results of a referendum on the status of Abyei—a move the UN warns could provoke a harsh response from Khartoum.
The UN Panel of Experts, which oversees sanctions including the 2018 arms embargo on South Sudan, warns that the influx of sophisticated weapons is worsening intercommunal violence and undermining the already fragile 2018 peace agreement.
The report's conclusion is blunt: "The war in Sudan is exporting instability."
In a region already stretched thin by overlapping crises, the line between internal conflict and regional contagion is growing dangerously faint.
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