KAMPALA / PORT SUDAN, 21 February 2026 – As the Sudan conflict February 2026 enters a critical diplomatic window, the chasm between high-level dialogue and battlefield reality has never been wider. While Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemetti, engaged in strategic discussions with President Yoweri Museveni in Entebbe on Friday, his forces and their rivals in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), have escalated a drone-led campaign that is disproportionately claiming the lives of the most vulnerable.
The Entebbe Push: A New African Architecture?
The presence of Hemetti at the Ugandan State House marks a significant shift in the mediation landscape. Following the AU Peace and Security Council Resolution 1308, there has been an aggressive move to reclaim the peace process from the “Jeddah Platform,” which Hemetti yesterday dismissed as a mere “tactic” for SAF repositioning.
In a rare public address to the Sudanese diaspora in Kampala, the RSF leader positioned himself as a champion of “African-led solutions.” However, political observers note that this visit follows closely on the heels of a meeting between Museveni and Malik Agar, the SAF’s Deputy Chairman, indicating that Uganda is attempting to position itself as the sole credible broker left on the continent. The challenge for Museveni is immense: he must balance the AU’s desire for a “presidential committee” resolution with the mounting international evidence of atrocities that make Hemetti a radioactive diplomatic partner.
Drones Over Al Sunut: The “Remote” Massacre
While the optics in Entebbe were focused on “constitutional roadmaps,” the air over West Kordofan told a different story. On Monday, 16 February, a devastating drone strike hit an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) shelter in Al Sunut. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, confirmed that at least 26 civilians were killed, including 15 children.
This is not an isolated incident. The Sudan conflict February 2026 has seen the debut of a “War of Drones” that utilizes sophisticated foreign tech. Investigations have revealed that the RSF is now deploying modified Chinese DJI-style drones and “suicide” UAVs, reportedly overseen by Colombian technical specialists, mercenaries who have entered the conflict through logistical corridors in Libya and Chad. These foreign operators provide the technical expertise that allows the RSF to strike deep into SAF-held territory, targeting not just military depots but schools and water collection points, as seen in the Umm Rusum village attack earlier this week.
The Colombian Component: Asymmetric Expertise
The presence of South American veterans, specifically from Colombia’s elite counter-insurgency units, marks a dangerous “internationalisation” of the civil war. These specialists, recruited through shadowy firms, have brought a decade of Colombian “forest warfare” experience to the Sudanese desert. They are reportedly training RSF units in the use of long-range reconnaissance drones, enabling the paramilitary group to bypass traditional SAF defensive lines. This “technical leap” has allowed the RSF to maintain pressure on urban centres like Khartoum and Port Sudan, even as their ground forces face fatigue.
📊 Conflict Data: The Kordofan Escalation (Feb 2026)
 The Darfur Genocide
This section provides critical context following yesterday’s reporting on Just Africa News.
The diplomatic pleasantries in Uganda must be viewed through the lens of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Missionreport released yesterday, 20 February 2026. The mission concluded that the RSF’s siege of El Fasher bore the “hallmarks of genocide,” citing systematic ethnic targeting of the Zaghawa and Fur communities.
By integrating this genocide declaration into our analysis, AfricanQuarters emphasizes that the “peace” being discussed in Entebbe is being negotiated with actors accused of the highest level of international crimes. For the AU and IGAD, the dilemma is now existential: Can a lasting peace be built on a foundation of documented genocide, or is the Kampala push simply another “tactic” in a war that has already cost over 60,000 lives?
