UN: UAE hired Colombian mercenaries to fight in Sudan
The gist
A confidential UN panel report found a UAE-based firm recruited Colombian mercenaries to fight for Sudan's RSF.
The finding lands as the UAE's UN chief candidate faces scrutiny over Sudan.
How it unfolded
- Aug 4, 2025Sudan's army-aligned government accused the UAE of recruiting and funding Colombian mercenaries for the RSF, and Sudan's army said it destroyed a UAE aircraft carrying Colombian mercenaries, killing 40.
- Sep 2025Sudan's representative Al-Halif Idriss Al-Halif wrote to the UN Security Council alleging that hundreds of Colombian army veterans had been hired through private security companies in the UAE.
- Oct 2025The RSF took the city of el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur, after a siege lasting more than 500 days.
Key terms
- RSF
- A Sudanese paramilitary force that grew out of the Janjaweed militias and was reorganized as a paramilitary organization in 2013.
- paramilitary
- An armed, militarized force organized like a military but without professional or legitimate status.
- genocide
- The intentional partial or total destruction of a human group.
Source: Wikipedia