Overview

• The Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked mercenary army, is arming Sudan's Rapid Support Forces with surface-to-air missiles as they battle the Sudanese National Army.
• Russian-owned company Meroe Gold buys gold from artisanal miners in Sudan and is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Wagner Group set up Meroe Gold and works closely with the RSF paramilitary group in Sudan, helping overthrow the civilian-led government.
• Wagner's intentions in Sudan remain unclear, but they have been accused of supplying missiles to the RSF to support their fight against the Sudanese military.
• The Sudanese people could be entering a new hellish civil war, with the potential for huge numbers of refugees and an expanding multi-country conflict.