Verified sources on Tuesday said Ethiopia is hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in neighbouring Sudan.

Reuters reporting has found, in the latest sign that one of the world’s deadliest conflicts is sucking in regional powers from Africa and the Middle East.

The camp constitutes the first direct evidence of Ethiopia’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war, marking a potentially dangerous development that provides the RSF a substantial supply of fresh soldiers as fighting escalates in Sudan’s south.

Eight sources, including a senior Ethiopian government official, said the United Arab Emirates financed the camp’s construction and provided military trainers and logistical support to the site, a view also shared in an internal note by Ethiopia’s security services and in a diplomatic cable, reviewed by Reuters.

The news agency could not independently verify UAE involvement in the project or the purpose of the camp. In response to a request for comment, the UAE foreign ministry said it was not a party to the conflict or “in any way” involved in the hostilities.

Sudan’s civil war erupted in 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It has spread famine and been marked by racially-charged atrocities. Millions of refugees have fled to Egypt, Chad, Libya and South Sudan.

Both sides draw strength from international backers, fueling the war and increasing the risk that the fighting spills over into neighbouring countries.

The news agency spoke to 15 sources familiar with the camp’s construction and operations, including Ethiopian officials and diplomats, and analyzed satellite imagery of the area.

Two Ethiopian intelligence officials and the satellite images provided information that corroborated details contained in the security memo and cable.

The location and scale of the camp and the detailed allegations of the UAE’s involvement have not been previously reported.

The images show the extent of the new development, as recently as in the past few weeks, along with construction for a drone ground control station at a nearby airport.

Activity picked up in October at the camp, which is located in the remote western region of Benishangul-Gumuz, near the border with Sudan, satellite images show.

Ethiopia’s government spokesperson, its army and the RSF did not respond to detailed requests for comment about the findings of this story.

On January 6, UAE and Ethiopia issued a joint statement that included a call for a ceasefire in Sudan, as well as celebrating ties they said served the defense of each other’s security.

The Sudanese Armed Forces did not respond to a request for comment.

Sudan’s army has previously accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons, a claim UN experts and U.S. lawmakers have found credible.

Abu Dhabi has been a strong supporter of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government from his early days in office in 2018, and the two countries have built a military alliance in recent years.

The camp’s recruits are mainly Ethiopians, but citizens from South Sudan and Sudan, including from the SPLM-N, a Sudanese rebel group that controls territory in Sudan’s neighbouring Blue Nile state, are also present, six officials said.

Reuters was unable to independently establish who was at the camp or the terms or conditions of recruitment.

A senior leader of the SPLM-N, who declined to be named, denied his forces had a presence in Ethiopia.

The six officials said the recruits are expected to join the RSF battling Sudanese soldiers in Blue Nile, which has emerged as a front in the struggle for control of Sudan.

Two of the officials said hundreds had already crossed in recent weeks to support the paramilitaries in Blue Nile.

The internal security note said General Getachew Gudina, the Chief of the Defense Intelligence Department of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, was responsible for setting up the camp.

A senior Ethiopian government official as well as four diplomatic and security sources confirmed Getachew’s role in launching the project. Getachew did not respond to a request for comment. (Reuters/NAN)