00:00Analysts watching the war in Sudan say the conflict extends far beyond the military sphere.
00:06Rather, it's part of a process of state collapse, where civilians are no longer protected,
00:12and economic factors have become a driving force.
00:16And unfortunately, there's a complete lack of state oversight, and indeed of protection
00:22for civilians and the population, as we're seeing from the absolutely alarming figures
00:28released by Human Rights Watch and others.
00:33So this entire internal conflict brings us to the crux of the matter, which is gold.
00:41We've seen from figures and investigations carried out that Sudan, which is one of the
00:47largest gold producers in all of Africa, is currently selling its gold to Dubai.
00:53Key to the conflict, but no longer traded through traditional channels, gold is sold through
00:59opaque networks at the heart of a war economy.
01:05Dubai buys gold, except that they don't necessarily use the most formal or official channels to
01:11purchase it, as there are militia controlling mines and so on.
01:16And in fact, the process takes place in several stages.
01:21This is what we've seen through investigations.
01:25So we can talk about circular economies today.
01:30Stage 1 is therefore the extraction of gold in conflict zones, which are controlled by militia.
01:36Then we move on to Stage 2, where there's regional smuggling.
01:40So the gold is transported via routes through Chad, Libya, and so on.
01:47Gold also plays a role in regional dynamics involving investment, infrastructure, and the
01:53exercise of influence.
01:57What's interesting is that there are countries that want to develop.
02:03So, for example, Dubai is going to fund infrastructure in the Central African Republic.
02:09They're going to inject money into the development of logistics routes, and so investments are going
02:15to be made in Bangui, for example.
02:19And in such cases, cargo planes belonging to opaque companies will be used to fly into the Central
02:26African Republic.
02:29And they'll continue to supply the rapid support forces through the CAR.
02:36The region also continues to be largely overlooked by the international community.
02:42That means these conflicts are less visible, despite their intensity and complexity.
02:51Unfortunately, Africa, or at least that particular region, is not a region of strategic interest in
02:57terms of energy resources and so on.
03:02So I think the international community pays far less attention to the area than to places
03:08such as Iran, which is currently attracting all the media attention.
03:14It's actually quite sad to say.
03:18Now, the dynamics of conflict are changing.
03:21They rely on indirect mechanisms where economic flows and parallel networks intertwine.
03:28The problem is that these aren't conventional wars.
03:31That's the problem.
03:33We don't have open wars.
03:35This will continue to fuel conflicts, as it's not done officially.
03:39Through front companies, we supply weapons, we take the gold, and we re-inject it into the
03:45economy so that it can't be traced.
03:48As long as this remains the case, of course, we'll continue to fuel the conflict.
03:54In wars without clear front lines, networks continue to operate behind the scenes.
04:00Gold, weapons, and front companies circulate side by side.
04:05And the conflict feeds on itself.
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