PORT SUDAN: Sudan accused the United Arab Emirates on Monday of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight against the government-aligned army on behalf of its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Since April 2023, war between the Suda­nese army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.

It has also drawn widespread accusations of foreign involvement — namely Abu Dhabi’s backing of the RSF.

“The government of Sudan possesses all the documents and evidence proving the involvement of mercenaries from Colombia and some neighbouring countries, sponsored and funded by the UAE,” the foreign ministry said.

The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations of arming the RSF, despite reports to the contrary from UN experts, diplomats, US politicians and international organisations.

Mercenaries have been spotted on both sides, with reports of Colombian fighters first emerging in the western region of Darfur late last year and corroborated by United Nations experts.

This week, the Joint Forces — a coalition of armed groups in Darfur aligned with the army — reported more than 80 Colombian mercenaries fighting on the RSF’s side in the North Darfur state capital El-Fasher.

The coalition said “several Colombian mercenaries involved in drone operations and artillery coordination were killed” in the most recent RSF attempt to seize the city, which it has besieged for over a year.

El-Fasher is the last state capital in Darfur still under control of the army, which on Sunday released video footage it said was of “foreign mercenaries believed to be from Colombia”.

The ministry said that it had previously submitted evidence of the foreign fighters’ involvement to the UN Security Coun­cil, adding their presence was making the conflict a “cross-border terrorist war waged by proxy”.

A report this year from UN experts monitoring an ongoing arms embargo on Darfur called the accusations of Colombian mercenaries fighting for the RSF credible.

Sudan said in December that the Colo­m­bian foreign ministry had extended its reg­ret “for the participation of some of its citizens in the war”, according to Sudan’s state news agency.

Retired Colombian soldiers and ex-guerrillas — hardened by more than half a century of conflict back home — have turned up in recent years in conflicts in Ukraine, Haiti and Afghanistan.

They have previously been recruited by the UAE to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen and to guard oil pipelines in the wealthy Gulf state.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2025