Other countries need to stop accepting the UAE's blanket denials
In the long and sorrowful history of wars fought by proxy, a new chapter has been documented: the United Arab Emirates stands accused of training Colombian mercenaries at its own military facilities and deploying them to Sudan's brutal civil war, where they fought alongside a paramilitary force linked to genocide. Human Rights Watch, corroborated by a United Nations panel, has placed this evidence before the world at a moment when at least 59,000 lives have already been lost and the killing continues. The Gulf monarchy denies all involvement, yet the accumulation of testimony, footage, and official acknowledgment from the RSF's own commander makes silence increasingly difficult to justify. What is at stake is not only accountability for atrocities already committed, but whether the international community possesses the will to interrupt the machinery of impunity before more are lost.
- A Human Rights Watch investigation has caught the UAE in a documented contradiction — officially denying any role in Sudan's war while hundreds of Colombian fighters trained on Emirati soil and fought under RSF command.
- The RSF, born from the same Janjaweed militias that terrorized Darfur two decades ago, stands accused of genocide, summary executions, sexual violence, and ethnically motivated massacres — with foreign mercenaries now embedded in those operations.
- In a single three-day assault on the Darfur city of el-Fasher, at least 6,000 people were killed — an offensive UN experts described as bearing the hallmarks of genocide, with Colombian fighters documented on the ground.
- The RSF's own commander publicly acknowledged Colombian mercenaries assisted his forces with drone operations, undercutting the UAE's categorical denials and sharpening calls for international sanctions.
- The United States has sanctioned Colombian recruitment networks but has not moved against the UAE itself, leaving Human Rights Watch and others pressing the European Union to impose arms embargoes and suspend military cooperation.
- With evidence mounting and official denials wearing thin, the question is no longer whether foreign hands shaped this war — but whether the world will act before impunity becomes the final verdict.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting that the United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries at military bases — one in the Al Dhafra region west of Abu Dhabi, another within the capital itself — before deploying them to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces. The RSF is a paramilitary group accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a conflict that has killed at least 59,000 people since it erupted in April 2023.
Sudan's war began as a power struggle between the national military and the RSF, which itself descended from the Janjaweed militias responsible for atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s. The violence has since spread across the country, with the RSF documented committing summary executions, sexual violence, torture, and ethnically motivated attacks in areas under its control.
The HRW investigation drew on interviews with Colombian mercenaries who described training RSF recruits — including child soldiers — near Nyala in South Darfur. A UN panel of experts separately confirmed that Colombian fighters operated across multiple Sudanese regions, manning drones, artillery, and armored vehicles in direct combat roles. RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo himself acknowledged in February that Colombian mercenaries had assisted his forces with drone operations.
The mercenaries were reportedly hired through Abu Dhabi-based Global Security Services Group, chaired by an Emirati national. Video footage verified by HRW appeared to show Colombian fighters alongside RSF forces during the October assault on el-Fasher — an offensive UN-commissioned experts described as bearing the hallmarks of genocide, in which at least 6,000 people were killed in three days.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, stating that Emirati territory is not permitted for the recruitment or transit of foreign fighters and that any private entity acting otherwise would face criminal prosecution. Neither Emirati authorities nor the security firm responded to HRW's requests for comment.
Human Rights Watch's Africa director called the Colombian contractor network further proof of UAE military backing for a group committing heinous atrocities, and urged the European Union to pressure the UAE through arms embargoes and suspension of military cooperation. The United States has sanctioned Colombian recruitment networks but has not yet acted against the UAE. As evidence accumulates, rights organizations are pressing the international community to stop accepting categorical denials and to confront what they describe as entrenched impunity for war crimes.
Human Rights Watch released a report on Tuesday documenting that the United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries at military facilities before deploying them to fight alongside Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of atrocities amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The training took place at a base in the Al Dhafra region, roughly 155 miles west of Abu Dhabi, and at another facility within the capital itself, according to the rights organization. Hundreds of these mercenaries were then sent to Sudan to support the RSF in its brutal conflict.
Sudan's war ignited on April 15, 2023, when a power struggle between the military and the RSF erupted into open fighting in Khartoum and across the sprawling northeastern African nation. The RSF itself emerged from the Janjaweed militias, armed groups that became synonymous with atrocities in the early 2000s when they targeted people of East and Central African descent in Darfur, Sudan's western region. In the three years since the war began, at least 59,000 people have been killed, though tracking organizations acknowledge this figure likely understates the true toll given the difficulty of documenting deaths in an active conflict zone.
The Human Rights Watch investigation included interviews with unnamed Colombian mercenaries who described their work on the ground. One such fighter recounted training RSF recruits at camps near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, in April of the previous year—and noted that many of those recruits were young children. A United Nations panel of experts corroborated these accounts in a September report to the Security Council, documenting that Colombian mercenaries operated across multiple Sudanese regions including Khartoum, Omdurman, Darfur, and Kordofan. Their combat roles included operating drones, artillery, and armored vehicles, as well as direct participation in attacks. RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo himself acknowledged in February video remarks that Colombian mercenaries had assisted his forces in drone operations.
The mercenaries were hired through Abu Dhabi-based Global Security Services Group, a private security firm chaired by Emirati national Mohammed Hamdan Al-Zaabi, according to UN experts. Human Rights Watch said it verified video footage showing what appeared to be Colombian fighters alongside the RSF during the group's October capture of el-Fasher, a Darfur city. That offensive, according to UN-commissioned experts, bore the hallmarks of genocide. At least 6,000 people were killed in three days during that assault alone.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry denied the allegations in a statement to the Associated Press, asserting that the country does not permit its territory to be used for recruitment, training, financing, or transit of foreign fighters to any conflict. The ministry added that any private individual or entity providing support to non-state armed groups would be acting without state authorization and in violation of Emirati law, subject to criminal investigation and prosecution. Neither Emirati authorities nor Global Security Services Group responded to Human Rights Watch's requests for comment.
This report represents the latest in a series of accusations from international rights organizations that the wealthy Gulf monarchy has provided both financial and military backing to the RSF. Mausi Segun, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division, stated that the recruitment of Colombian contractors adds to mounting evidence of UAE military support to a group that has repeatedly committed heinous atrocities. The RSF has been documented carrying out summary executions, ethnically motivated attacks, sexual and gender-based violence, and torture throughout areas under its control.
The United States has imposed sanctions on numerous people and firms based in Bogota for allegedly recruiting and deploying Colombian mercenaries to the RSF, but has not yet addressed the documented allegations of UAE support. Human Rights Watch is calling on the international community, including the European Union, to pressure the UAE to end its backing of the RSF through suspension of military cooperation and arms sales. As Segun put it, other countries must stop accepting the UAE's categorical denials in the face of accumulating evidence and should work to end what she characterized as impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Notable Quotes
The recruitment of Colombian private military contractors adds to a growing body of evidence that the UAE provides military support to the Rapid Support Forces, which have repeatedly carried out heinous atrocities in Sudan.— Mausi Segun, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa Division
The UAE does not permit its territory to be used for the recruitment, training, financing or transit of foreign fighters to any conflict, including Sudan.— UAE Foreign Ministry
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would the UAE train and deploy Colombian mercenaries specifically? What's the strategic value?
The RSF needed experienced fighters who could operate sophisticated equipment—drones, artillery, armored vehicles—that local recruits couldn't handle. Colombian soldiers brought that technical expertise. It's also plausible deniability: hire a private firm, use foreign contractors, and the UAE can claim it's not directly involved.
But the UAE is denying everything. How confident is Human Rights Watch in this evidence?
They interviewed mercenaries directly, cross-referenced with UN experts, and verified video footage. The RSF commander himself admitted Colombians were operating drones. That's not circumstantial—that's the group's own leadership confirming it.
What does it mean that many of the RSF recruits being trained were children?
It suggests the RSF is desperate for manpower, or it's a deliberate strategy to militarize young people. Either way, it's a war crime. Training children as combatants violates international law. The mercenaries would have known this.
Why hasn't the US sanctioned the UAE the way it has Colombian firms?
That's the question everyone's asking. Geopolitically, the UAE is a more valuable partner to Washington than Colombia. Sanctioning them carries costs the US apparently isn't willing to pay yet.
What happens next? Does this report change anything?
It adds pressure. Human Rights Watch is explicitly calling for the EU and others to suspend military cooperation with the UAE. But without enforcement—without consequences—denials work. The UAE can keep saying no, and the world can keep accepting it.