It’s been reported that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service is being used by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) amid a nationwide internet blackout.
Details
The RSF, which is battling Sudan’s army, has had access to Starlink technology since August 2023, according to diplomats and a humanitarian official in the Darfur region.
Zoom Out
Fighting that erupted in Sudan in April has killed more than 12,000 people, destroyed the economy, and forced 9 million others to flee their homes — the biggest mass internal displacement on Earth.
The US State Department has accused members of both the army and RSF of committing war crimes in the fight to control the vast North African nation that sits on a stretch of Red Sea key to global shipping.
Some RSF-friendly traders in the region were now charging civilians about $2 per hour to use the Starlink services.
Digging Deeper
Starlink’s mobile routers have become an increasingly vital piece of wartime infrastructure, providing communications services in areas of fighting where the internet is down in countries around the world.
Both sides in Sudan’s conflict blame each other for the internet shutdown, which has affected companies such as South Africa’s MTN, Kuwait’s Zain Sudan, and the state-owned Sudatel Telecom Group.
What They’re Saying
The Association of Sudanese Engineers said in a statement the RSF had cut the internet throughout the entire country because of a loss of connectivity in the vast western Darfur region, the paramilitaries’ stronghold.
Alfatih Erwa, Zain Sudan’s chief executive, said his company’s engineers had been prevented from restoring connections in Darfur due to insecurity and fuel and electricity shortages.
Source: Bloomberg
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