Declan Walsh

And here was this clue that really set us further along this track of trying to uncover what's really driving this destructive war in Sudan.

Well, look, you're absolutely right.

There is a strong parallel between the issue of blood diamonds that were so famous years ago from West Africa and the importance of gold in this conflict.

But, you know, Sudan's war is about many things.

The fight between these two generals exposed this much deeper rift in the country.

Tensions that go back to the genocide 20 years ago in Sudan that were never really healed.

And now they've become mixed with ethnic problems, political problems.

and focused inside this war that has engulfed the whole country.

But on top of that, this is a country with a lot of rich agricultural land.

It's got ports on the Red Sea.

It's a huge country.

So there are many reasons to fight over it.

But gold is the one thing that is easy to mine in the middle of the conflict.

And that now, of course, is worth so much money.

Gold prices are higher than they've ever been.

Well, look, most of it is smuggled, so we don't know exactly.

But it's certainly, by most estimates, is worth billions of dollars every year.

And it's a huge factor on both sides of the war, but particularly for the RSF.

And the leader of the group, his name is Lieutenant General Mohammed Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti.

is a commander who in many ways came to prominence as a result of gold.