Colombian mercenaries accused of committing war crimes in Sudan were trained on military bases in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. The group’s investigation outlines how, since 2024, the Abu Dhabi-based security company Global Security Services Group hired hundreds of Colombian private military contractors, who were then deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces. Human Rights Watch found evidence that the private military contractors were in El Fasher in October 2025, when the RSF seized the key city and committed widespread massacres and rape. The report adds to evidence of the UAE’s involvement in the war in Sudan, despite the government’s repeated denials.
“UAE’s apparent support to the RSF is part of a broader pattern whereby the UAE has been intervening in neighboring conflicts for over a decade … to project its political and economic influence abroad,” says Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea. “The UAE still has not received any accountability and has not yet been called out by name by the international community. And in the context of Sudan, we’re still relying on these ambiguous and weak statements calling out 'external actors' fueling the war, rather than naming names and calling out the UAE.”
“UAE’s apparent support to the RSF is part of a broader pattern whereby the UAE has been intervening in neighboring conflicts for over a decade … to project its political and economic influence abroad,” says Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea. “The UAE still has not received any accountability and has not yet been called out by name by the international community. And in the context of Sudan, we’re still relying on these ambiguous and weak statements calling out 'external actors' fueling the war, rather than naming names and calling out the UAE.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.