Ethiopia | Alleged RSF Training Camp Discovered Near Grand Renaissance Dam
Oasis Media Collective | East Africa Wire | February 10, 2026
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — An investigation by Reuters has identified an alleged training camp of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese militia and one of the main belligerents in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, in Ethiopia.
The alleged camp lies in northwestern Ethiopia in the region of Benishangul-Gumuz, along Ethiopia’s border with Sudan. Satellite imagery compiled from April to November of last year showed an increasing number of tents, machinery, and transport vehicles stationed there near the district of Menge, roughly 32km (20 miles) from the Ethiopia-Sudan border. Senior military figures and diplomats confirmed the camp’s existence to Reuters.
Defense intelligence firm Janes estimated that the alleged camp could host over a thousand fighters, although it clarified that satellite imagery was not sufficient on its own to confirm the site as a military one.
Reuters reached out to the Ethiopian government and RSF for comments; neither responded.
The alleged camp’s location in Benishangul-Gumuz is noteworthy, given that the region is home to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a hydroelectric facility capable of holding up to 74 billion cubic meters of water and generating over 5,000 megawatts of electricity. Officially inaugurated in in September 2025, the GERD has become a point of contention in relations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, with Cairo and Khartoum viewing it as a threat to downstream water flows upon which both countries depend.
If the alleged camp’s existence and status as an RSF training ground are officially confirmed, that could potentially escalate disagreements between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, tying the GERD dispute into the Sudan war matter. While U.S. President Donald Trump has declared his intent to resolve both matters peacefully, such a development could complicate diplomatic efforts in either case.
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