MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Western propaganda is trying to cover up the participation of their companies in smuggling Sudanese gold, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Monday.

The Western "propaganda machine" said Russia was the one to blame for the conflict in Sudan, the source said. Russia’s presence in the region is viewed as a threat to the US’ "rules-based order," he noted.

"In fact, behind this propaganda ‘wave’ lies an attempt to ‘obscure’ the involvement of numerous Western companies in smuggling two-thirds of the mined gold in Sudan, as well as the practice of ‘neocolonialism’ implemented in Africa, which is based on unequal exchange," the source added

The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council.

The main points of contention between the two military organizations pertain to the timeline and methods for unifying the armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should be appointed as commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is al-Burhan’s preferred option, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists. On April 15, clashes between the two military structures erupted near a military base in Merowe and in Khartoum. According to the Sudan’s Ministry of Health, over 3,000 persons died and about 6,000 were wounded from the start of hostilities.