UAE accused of training Colombian mercenaries for Sudan's war
HRW says hundreds of Colombian contractors were recruited by a UAE-based firm and trained by Emirati nationals before deployment to Sudan.
- On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch accused the United Arab Emirates of training hundreds of Colombian mercenaries at military facilities near Abu Dhabi before deploying them to fight alongside Sudan's Rapid Support Forces.
- Sudan's three-year conflict began in April 2023 when a military power struggle with the RSF erupted in Khartoum; the RSF emerged from Arab Janjaweed militias notorious for early-2000s Darfur atrocities and has faced accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- An unnamed Colombian mercenary told HRW he trained RSF recruits at camps in South Darfur in April last year, while U.N. experts documented that mercenaries operated drones, artillery and armored vehicles across Khartoum, Omdurman, Darfur and Kordofan.
- The UAE's Foreign Ministry denied the allegations to The Associated Press, stating the country does not permit recruitment or training of foreign fighters; Emirati authorities and the Abu Dhabi-based Global Security Services Group declined to respond to HRW's requests for comment.
- HRW called on the European Union to suspend military cooperation with the UAE, while Mausi Segun urged countries to reject the Gulf state's denials; the U.S. has already sanctioned Bogota-based firms over mercenary recruitment, as Sudan's death toll reaches at least 59,000 over three years.
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49 Articles
The United Arab Emirates is targeted by new accusations in the war in the Sudan. According to a report released on Tuesday, 26 May, 2026 by Human Rights Watch, Colombian mercenaries recruited from the Emirates are said to have fought alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary militia accused of war crimes in Darfur. The NGO claims to have gathered evidence that these fighters transited through Emirian military bases prior to their …
A report shows how mercenaries from Colombia came to the front via military bases in the Emirates in Sudan.
Atrocities in Sudan backed by Colombian mercenaries trained at UAE bases, says report
Atrocities in Sudan backed by Colombian mercenaries trained at UAE bases, says report Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 05/26/2026 - 12:51 Hundreds of Colombian contractors transited through Emirati bases in Sudan to support the RSF Sudanese students leave a school operated by the Sudanese Coalition for Education for All, in partnership with Unicef, south of Port Sudan on 26 April 2026 (Khaled Desouki/AFP) Off Columbian mercenaries who helped …
Security company based in Abu Dhabi hired "100 Colombian mercenaries" to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudanese Army, according to the organization.
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