Colombian fighters in Sudan
Wednesday, 27 May 2026 | Author: Andrew Michael | Photo: DNE Africa| GT-News |
A United Arab Emirates-linked private security company recruited hundreds of Colombian contractors to fight alongside Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The rights group says the contractors travelled through military facilities in the UAE before being deployed to Sudan, where some were later identified fighting in El Fasher during the city’s capture by the RSF in late 2025.
The 83-page report alleges that the Abu Dhabi-based company Global Security Services Group (GSSG) organised the recruitment effort beginning in 2024.
The RSF has been engaged in a brutal conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023, in a war that has displaced millions and triggered what aid agencies describe as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Human Rights Watch said it interviewed Colombian contractors, former company employees, Sudanese witnesses and military sources, and analysed videos, photographs and corporate records.
One contractor told researchers that upon arrival in the UAE, recruits bypassed normal immigration procedures and were taken directly to a military base in Ghiyathi, west of Abu Dhabi, where they received training from Emirati personnel.
“They didn’t stamp our passports,” the contractor was quoted as saying.
The report says additional contractors were seen at another apparent military facility in Al Wathba before deployment to Sudan.
Human Rights Watch alleges that some Colombian fighters later appeared in verified videos from El Fasher, where residents reported widespread killings, rape and starvation during the RSF offensive.
The UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has previously said atrocities committed in the city bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.
Six residents interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they saw foreign fighters at sites of mass killings wearing military equipment matching that seen in videos posted online by Colombian contractors.
The report also alleges that Colombian contractors trained RSF recruits, including children, near Nyala in 2025.
The recruitment or use of children under 15 in armed conflict constitutes a war crime under international law.
The UAE has repeatedly denied providing military support to the RSF, saying its role in Sudan is limited to humanitarian assistance.
Human Rights Watch argues, however, that the use of Emirati military facilities and the movement of armed contractors through the country raise serious questions about official knowledge or involvement.
The organisation called on the UN Security Council to investigate GSSG and impose sanctions on companies or individuals found to be assisting the RSF in violation of the UN arms embargo on Darfur.
It also urged governments to suspend military cooperation and arms sales to the UAE pending further investigations.
Neither GSSG nor UAE authorities responded to Human Rights Watch requests for comment, according to the report.
