New Sudanese notes circulate in RSF areas, deepening de facto split

June 25 - Newly issued Sudanese pounds have begun circulating in territory controlled by a paramilitary group fighting the national army, raising questions about the source of the notes and potentially deepening the country's de facto division.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - which cooperated with Sudan's armed forces before the two fell out and began fighting a war in April 2023 - now controls large swathes of the country, including the vast western Darfur region.

Last year, the RSF set up a parallel cabinet, known as the "Tasis" government, in areas under its control and has gradually sought to assume functions such as paying civil servant salaries.

Control over Sudan's currency has been a point of contention since 2024, when the army-led government declared old Sudanese pounds invalid and began issuing new 500 and 1,000-pound notes.

The RSF declared the new notes invalid, and cash gradually became scarce in territory under its control, according to four residents who spoke to Reuters.

BRAND NEW NOTES

That scarcity appeared to ease in late May, when civil servants and RSF fighters were paid in Sudanese pounds — an unusual development in RSF-held areas. The notes, described by residents as new and unused, were dated May 2022, according to a photograph shared with Reuters.

Reuters could not determine the source of the notes, which look almost identical to pre-war banknotes. However, a banker in Nyala, the Darfur city that serves as the Tasis authority's base, said they were newly printed.

Adding to the uncertainty, the notes bear the signature of Hussein Yahia Jangol, Sudan's pre-war central bank governor, who was appointed head of a new Tasis-run central bank on May 21, shortly before the notes surfaced.

Tasis Prime Minister Mohamed Hasan al-Taishi said authorities continued to recognise pounds issued before June 2024.

He declined to comment on the origin of the new notes, but said "any arrangements related to cash management or liquidity provision" were based on "well-thought-out technical plans aimed at maintaining economic stability and meeting the needs of citizens and markets."

Taishi accused the army-led government of harming civilians "by changing the currency, drying up the markets, and exploiting the currency as a tool of war." The army-aligned central bank did not respond to requests for comment.

The RSF — which Sudan's military says receives financial and military support from the United Arab Emirates, a charge UAE denies — may struggle to gain recognition for its central bank. Suliman Baldo, head of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think tank, said many countries would be reluctant to accept a parallel system.

"But they are moving ahead … because they have a real problem they need to resolve," he said.

With cash in short supply, many Sudanese have turned to Bankak, an online payments app run by the Bank of Khartoum and used across front lines, though high fees can make it more expensive than cash.

In RSF-held areas, a rival transfer service, Future Bank, has emerged this year, and was used to pay at least some May salaries, residents said.

The pound's value has collapsed since the war broke out, weakening in recent weeks to more than 5,000 pounds to the dollar, from less than 600 before the war. REUTERS