Report Reveals: UAE Involved in Recruiting Mercenaries from Colombia and Involving Them in the War in Sudan

SadaNews - Human Rights Watch stated in a report published today, Tuesday, that Colombian fighters hired by a UAE-based company were trained at Emirati military bases before being deployed to Sudan to support the Rapid Support Forces, which are accused of committing violations and atrocities.

The report mentioned that Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with two Colombian military contractors sent to Sudan, a former employee of the Global Security Services group based in Abu Dhabi, residents of El Fasher in western Sudan, former Colombian officials, reviewed corporate records and official documents, verified online images and videos, and determined their geographical locations, including some posted by the contractors themselves, showing Colombians fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan and "training at military facilities in the UAE".

The report stated that "Human Rights Watch found that the recruits passed through an Emirati military base in Ghiyathi and what is supposed to be a military facility in Al Wathbah, both located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi".

An investigation by the AFP news agency published in December revealed that hundreds of former Colombian soldiers had moved to Sudan to participate in the war in exchange for promises of high salaries.

The investigation at the time, based on interviews with mercenaries and their family members, corporate records, and geolocation of battle footage, revealed that the Colombians were recruited via WhatsApp and then transported to Sudan following short training missions in the UAE.

Since April 2023, a devastating war has been ongoing between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions, which the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that the security company "hired Colombian military contractors who were deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces" between 2024 and 2025.

It considered that "the recruitment of Colombian military contractors adds to a growing body of evidence that the UAE is militarily supporting the Rapid Support Forces", noting that several other companies in Colombia and Panama are contributing to recruitment.

It mentioned that the Global Security Services group "recently announced that among its clients were major Emirati ministries and that it is the sole provider of armed security services for the UAE government", noting that it is linked to high-ranking officials, which the UAE continuously denies, asserting it has no involvement in the war in Sudan.

A UAE government official commented to AFP about the report, stating that his country "does not allow its territories to be used for recruiting, training, funding, or transiting foreign fighters heading to any conflict, including Sudan". He added that "any person or entity" involved in such acts "will be subject to a criminal investigation".

Human Rights Watch accused the Rapid Support Forces of having "committed serious violations and assaults across the country since the beginning of the war, including large-scale extrajudicial executions, rapes, gang rapes, sexual enslavement, looting, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure".

It considered that providing military support to the Rapid Support Forces by the UAE "may constitute assistance and complicity or a substantial contribution to the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Rapid Support Forces".

Human Rights Watch called upon "the UAE's allies and members of the UN Security Council and the African Union" to "publicly urge the Emirati authorities to immediately and urgently stop supplying weapons, equipment, personnel, and all forms of support to the Rapid Support Forces".