Foreign Backing: UAE-Linked Colombian Mercenaries in the El Fasher Assault

Human Rights Watch evidence indicates that an Abu Dhabi-based security company with links to the UAE's ruling family recruited Colombian private military contractors who fought alongside the RSF in and around El Fasher from as early as August 2024, including reportedly standing by while RSF fighters killed civilians with disabilities.

"Amal", 29, described being stopped by an RSF group while fleeing El Fasher with people who had disabilities, including deaf individuals and a person with Down syndrome. She said one RSF fighter called out to another, "Come and see this mad person!" before the group killed them and then arrested some of the women, with fighters saying "Kill the ambayat" -- a slur meaning slaves.

Amal said the men doing the killing were Arab Sudanese, but white-uniformed fighters stood alongside them -- shorter than the Sudanese fighters, wearing fatigues, helmets, and short-sleeved gear with insignia, and carrying sniper rifles and small silenced weapons. Human Rights Watch assesses these were most likely Colombian private military contractors who stood by while RSF fighters killed men, women and people with disabilities.

HRW's evidence indicates that since 2024, an Abu Dhabi-based security company -- licensed to work for the Emirati government and linked to the ruling family and senior UAE officials -- has hired Colombian private military contractors deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF. Media reports indicate at least 300 Colombians had been deployed as early as August 2024, as the RSF was tightening its siege of El Fasher and escalating ground and air attacks.

HRW's evidence indicates Colombians took part in combat in and around El Fasher and, per media reports, provided training to RSF recruits, including child soldiers.

This foreign involvement sits within a wider pattern documented across this dossier: nationwide RSF violations include mass extrajudicial killings, rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, looting and destruction of civilian infrastructure across Darfur, Kordofan and Gezira state, alongside the ethnic-cleansing campaign against the Masalit and other non-Arab communities described elsewhere in this series.

HRW's broader assessment finds that at least 150,000 people have likely died as a result of the conflict, an estimated 12.9 million people have fled their homes, and half the country faces acute hunger amid spreading famine -- consequences HRW attributes to denial of humanitarian access by both warring parties and to widespread looting and attacks on civilians, notably by the RSF. HRW states that support for the RSF from the UAE or other sources, in the form of fighters and weapons, would have contributed materially to the siege and assault on El Fasher.

Sources

Human Rights Watch -- Primary report: "Amal" testimony, Colombian PMC deployment evidence, UAE company links, nationwide death/displacement estimates