UAE Backed Colombian Mercenaries Fighting in Sudan, UN Finds

(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates helped fund and train Colombian mercenaries who fought with a Sudanese paramilitary force accused of war crimes and genocide, a recent United Nations report found.

A confidential investigation by the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan, seen by Bloomberg and shared with the UN Security Council last week, found that a UAE-based private security company recruited Colombian mercenaries to support the Rapid Support Forces. It also found that a UAE-linked base in Somalia was used to transport and train the fighters before they were deployed to Sudan.

The new findings come as one of the UAE’s top diplomats, Lana Nusseibeh, vies for the role of Secretary General at the UN — a campaign that has already been criticized by the Sudan’s envoys at the world body. 

Sudan has been in a civil war since 2023, when a power struggle between the army and the RSF erupted into full-scale fighting, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced. The conflict has become a proxy war that has drawn in regional and global powers, and the report adds to a growing body of evidence of UAE support for the RSF. 

The report established “conclusively” that Global Security Services Group, a UAE-based private security company, hired the mercenaries. It also found that they stopped at the UAE-linked Puntland Maritime Police Force base in Bossaso, Somalia for transit and possible training before traveling onward to Sudan.

The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations about playing a role in the Sudan conflict. In a statement on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said: “UAE authorities have investigated allegations concerning GSSG” and that a UN panel of experts “has been informed of the findings.” 

The statement added that the “UAE has not provided arms or any kind of military support” in Sudan and has “consistently supported regional and international efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire and protect civilians.” 

The UN investigation concluded that the Colombian mercenaries played a significant role in RSF military operations in Darfur, particularly in the 18-month siege and capture of the Sudanese city of El Fasher. 

The UN previously said there were “widespread atrocities that amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity” in El Fasher, with around 6,000 people were killed in just three days, the UN found. The mercenaries’ involvement included drone operation, artillery and infantry support.

The report is likely to further complicate Nusseibeh’s attempt to become the top official at the UN. Her country’s role in the war in Sudan has already dogged her campaign and sparked a backlash from both human rights groups and Sudan’s government.

Nusseibeh has long denied that the UAE has had anything to do with arming the RSF. When she was the UAE ambassador to the UN, she told the Security Council that allegations of UAE support for the RSF were “spurious, unfounded, and lack any credible evidence.”

Since announcing her candidacy at the UN, Nusseibeh has reiterated that the war in Sudan will be a top priority for her and a “litmus test” for the success of the next secretary general.

“The situation in Sudan is horrific. Ending this terrible conflict would be a priority for me as secretary general,” Nusseibeh said in a statement, adding that she has not seen the report. 

“Where there are findings by a UN body against any member state, I would absolutely fulfill my responsibility to act on it and engage that state,” she said.

The New York Times reported earlier on the findings of the UN investigation.