Um Dafuq – Darfur24
Russian forces deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR) have launched a recruitment campaign targeting Sudanese herders living in border regions near Sudan, a local administration leader told Darfur24.
The source stated that Russian officers held meetings in late December with sheikhs and chiefs of the Sudanese Baggara tribes in the areas of Engliz, Barwa, Mamoun, Andha, and Andili. During the meetings, each tribal leader was allegedly asked to provide between 30 and 34 young men for recruitment to work alongside Russian forces in border operations.
According to the source, the recruits were to be offered monthly salaries ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 CFA francs, following a two-week military training course on the use of light weapons. The forces also promised to provide weapons for use during deployment in Central Africa, with assurances they would be returned to Sudan during the rainy season.
The source added that Russian officials told the local administration that the recruits would accompany Russian patrols in border villages, identify Sudanese nationals, monitor herders’ movements, and provide information on infiltrators and individuals carrying weapons.
The Baggara tribal administration approved the recruitment initiative, viewing it as a means to protect Sudanese herders and their communities in the Central African Republic amid tensions with local groups. The first batch of 35 recruits was reportedly sent to a Russian camp in the Berua area last week.
Meanwhile, local sources in Umm Dafuq, South Darfur State, told Darfur24 that Russian forces in Central Africa have also recruited hundreds of young men from the Sara tribes along the Sudanese border to carry out security tasks in the region.