Libyan warlord could plunge Sudan into a drawn-out ‘nightmare’ conflict

As Khalifa Haftar's influence emerges, analysts warn the area could be a battleground for multiple players

The Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar helped to prepare the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia now fighting for control of Sudan, for battle in the months before the devastating violence that broke out on 15 April, the Observer has been told by former officials, militia commanders and sources in Sudan and the UK.

The involvement of Haftar, who runs much of the eastern part of Libya, will raise fears of a long-drawn-out conflict in Sudan fuelled by outside interests. Analysts have described a nightmare scenario" of multiple regional actors and powers fighting a proxy war in the country of more than 45 million people.