‘Colombian mercenaries fighting in Sudan with alleged UAE links’
Stills from a video purportedly showing documents belonging to Colombians killed in Darfur clashes, as claimed by the Joint Force (Source: @clashreport via X)
At least 300 Colombian ex-soldiers are reportedly fighting in Sudan, according to an investigative report by Colombian news site, La Silla Vacía, published on Tuesday. The report alleges that the soldiers were drawn into the ongoing conflict through a cross-border operation involving four countries, chiefly spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates.
According to the original report, the operation involved Colombian ex-soldiers being recruited under false pretences by the Colombian company, International Services Agency A4SI (Academy for Security Instruction), with promises of securing oil infrastructure in the UAE. Instead, they were transported to Libya via Dubai or Abu Dhabi, where they were handed over to representatives of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Libya served as a staging ground, with mercenaries housed in Benghazi before being covertly transported across the border into Sudan, via desert routes over eight days, to fight alongside the RSF in operations around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where three were killed during fighting in October. The family of one deceased soldier confirmed his death, adding that shelling had caused heavy casualties among their ranks.
The operation highlights a transnational network spanning Colombia, the UAE, Libya, and Sudan, involving private security firms, paramilitary groups, and alleged backing from the UAE, a key player accused of supporting the RSF in violation of international arms embargoes.
A video circulating on social media, shows members of the *Joint Forces, made up of Sudanese Armed Forces-aligned insurgents, presenting documents and ID cards allegedly belonging to Colombian mercenaries. These forces claimed the mercenaries had travelled from Libya to fight alongside the RSF.
The Joint Forces reportedly ambushed a logistics convoy from Libya, capturing several Colombian soldiers and killing others.
La Silla Vacía state that 40 of these soldiers were sent to Sudan under false pretences, with one soldier stating in an audio recording that their contract described a completely different assignment.
Fears are mounting among some Colombian troops that refusal to fight alongside the RSF could result in their execution, the report says.
The investigation draws parallels with a 2020 incident involving the UAE-based Black Shield Security Services Company, which allegedly lured Sudanese recruits into security work, only to deploy them to Libya to fight under the Libyan National Army Commander, Khalifa Haftar, guarding oil refineries and strategic locations.
‘Alleged UAE links’
The UAE’s alleged involvement is highlighted, with the news site citing previous instances of Emirati forces deploying Colombian mercenaries, including during the Yemen war.
Colombian soldiers reportedly signed confidentiality agreements with the Global Security Services Group, described as the UAE’s first licensed armed security company. They were promised monthly salaries of $2,600 for soldiers and $3,400 for non-commissioned officers.
The company reportedly aims to deploy between 1,500 and 1,800 Colombian soldiers in Sudan, according to the soldiers’ testimonies.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on the repatriation of bodies of three soldiers killed in October, the report says. Radio Dabanga were also unable to obtain a response from the RSF regarding these claims.
The Sudanese Armed Forces, activists, and various stakeholders have accused the UAE of fuelling Sudan’s conflict by supplying weapons to the RSF, a claim supported by UN monitors but repeatedly denied by the UAE.
During the UN Security Council’s 9,611th meeting in April, Sudan’s Permanent Representative, El Harith Idriss Mohamed, directly alleged UAE involvement. In response, the UAE dismissed the accusations and evidence as “baseless allegations.”
The UAE admitted to supplying arms to the RSF before the outbreak of the war, but denies sending any arms after April 15, 2023.
This development adds another layer to Sudan’s complex conflict, raising further questions about the international dimensions of the war and exact extent of the UAE’s alleged involvement.
* The Darfur Joint Force was formed in June 2022, as agreed on in the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement (JPA), to protect the people in the region. The force was made up of fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement faction headed by Darfur Governor Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the JEM faction led by Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (JEM-GI), and several small rebel groups that signed the JPA. These movements renounced their neutrality in November last year and are now fighting the RSF alongside the Sudanese army. Since then, Sudanese media speak about the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements, while the group’s logo on their X and Facebook accounts says Sudanese Joint Force (and in Arabic Sudanese Joint Forces).
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