U.S.-linked contractors allegedly supplied air support to RSF during Sudan siege

Investigations suggest companies tied to a former U.S. Army Special Forces veteran flew aircraft that delivered fighters and equipment to the Rapid Support Forces during the 2025 assault on el-Fasher.

During the October 2025 RSF takeover of el-Fasher, satellite images showed streets littered with bodies and estimates of fatalities ranging from 10,000 to 150,000. Both the U.S. State Department and a U.N. fact-finding mission have labeled the RSF’s actions as genocide. Recent reporting indicates that aircraft owned by firms connected to former Army Special Forces member Steven Shaulis flew between RSF logistics centers, delivering combatants, mercenaries, drones and weapons, according to a U.N. Panel of Experts.

Shaulis’s companies, including a UAE-registered carrier that operated a Boeing 737 destroyed in a May 2 airstrike, have long held U.S. military and USAID contracts totaling at least $419 million. While Shaulis has not commented, his partner Craig Munro claims the flights were civilian medical missions, a statement one outlet could not verify. Journalists note that one of Shaulis’s firms, CADG, has historically acted as a commercial front for U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. The revelations raise questions about indirect U.S. involvement in a conflict that has already displaced millions and drawn in regional powers such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UAE.