A confidential United Nations Panel of Experts report submitted to the Security Council and obtained by Middle East Eye states that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hired Colombian mercenaries to fight for Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to the report, UN investigators said the document “establishes conclusively” that Abu Dhabi arranged the recruitment and deployment of the fighters [1]. The report states that Global Security Services Group, a UAE-based company that describes itself as a preferred security provider for Emirati ministries, moved the Colombians into Sudan through Libya, Somalia and Chad.
UN investigators said the UAE-linked Puntland Maritime Police Force base in Bosaso, Somalia, was used as a transit and training site before the fighters were deployed to Sudan [2]. The UAE and other entities named in the report have denied wrongdoing, according to the document. In a letter included in the leaked report, the Emirati government said it “rejects any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the Sudan conflict” and that it “takes allegations about mercenaries very seriously” [3].
Report Details Transit, Training and Combat Role
The report states the mercenaries were trained and deployed through a network involving the UAE, Somalia, eastern Libya and Chad. According to UN investigators, training took place in Abu Dhabi, Ghayathi and al-Wathba in the UAE, and at the Puntland Maritime Police Force base in Bosaso, Somalia.
The Panel of Experts report states the Colombian mercenaries played a significant role in RSF military operations in Darfur, particularly in the siege and capture of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
The findings echo earlier reporting by Human Rights Watch, which alleged that hundreds of Colombian private military contractors were trained by Emirati nationals at a military base in the Al Dhafra region, about 155 miles west of Abu Dhabi, and at another facility in Abu Dhabi before being deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF [4].
UAE Rejects Allegations; Report Remains Confidential
In a letter included in the leaked report, the UAE said it rejects any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the Sudan conflict and takes allegations about mercenaries very seriously. The Emirati foreign ministry did not respond to Middle East Eye’s request for comment for the article, according to the report [3].
The Panel of Experts report is marked strictly confidential and will not be made public. The report follows an earlier UN report that also asserted UAE-supplied mercenaries took part in the assault on el-Fasher. Bahrain, a non-permanent Security Council member, has blocked that report for months, according to the document. The UAE’s UN ambassador demanded that investigators immediately remedy what he described as serious defects in the earlier report [3].
The British government said it has introduced six rounds of sanctions since the conflict began, targeting military commanders, Colombian mercenaries and illicit gold networks based in Dubai and Hong Kong. A British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said the United Kingdom's position on external support for the warring parties is clear and that all external support serves only to fuel the bloodshed [3].
Prior Reports, Sanctions and Regional Network
Middle East Eye and other outlets have previously reported on the use of Colombian mercenaries and the ports of Bosaso and Berbera by the UAE and RSF. The United Nations and the U.S. have found that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur, western Sudan, according to the report [3].
The New York Times reported that Global Security Services Group, the company that deployed the Colombian mercenaries, was founded by a senior official in the Emirati presidency. Anthropic established with high confidence that the UAE was behind an influence operation targeting UN experts and critics of its role in Sudan, according to the report [3].
Sudan has called on the UN Security Council to identify and condemn the RSF’s external sponsors, with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim telling the General Assembly that external support for the RSF was prolonging the war [5].
Conclusion
The leaked Panel of Experts report adds new detail to a growing body of UN and independent findings that describe a multinational support network sustaining the RSF’s operations in Sudan. The document names Global Security Services Group as the recruiting vehicle, identifies UAE training sites and the Bosaso base as key transit nodes, and states that the Colombian fighters provided combat and technical support during the siege and capture of el-Fasher. The UAE has denied wrongdoing, and the report remains confidential.
The timing of the leak places the findings directly into the debate over the next UN secretary-general. Sudan’s ambassador to the U.K. said Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh’s candidacy should not be used to whitewash the UAE’s support for the RSF, while Nusseibeh told Politico that RSF atrocities must be subject to accountability. The U.S., Russia, France and the U.K. are leaning toward supporting Nusseibeh’s candidacy, with China not in favor, according to diplomatic sources cited by Middle East Eye [3].
The report’s disclosure also follows earlier UN findings that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur, a conclusion that prompted a group of western nations to form an atrocity prevention coalition for Sudan [6]. Bahrain’s blockage of the earlier report, the UAE ambassador’s demand that investigators remedy alleged defects, and the UAE’s economic leverage over the P5 all indicate that the diplomatic fight over the findings is likely to continue regardless of the Panel of Experts’ conclusions.
References
- Leaked UN report 'establishes conclusively' that UAE hired .... https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/leaked-un-report-establishes-conclusively-uae-hired-colombian-mercenaries-sudans-rsf
- United Nations S Security Council - digitallibrary.un.org. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4091008/files/S_2025_555-EN.pdf
- Leaked UN report 'establishes conclusively' that UAE hired Colombian mercenaries for Sudan's RSF. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/leaked-un-report-establishes-conclusively-uae-hired-colombian-mercenaries-sudans-rsf
- UAE accused of training Colombian mercenaries for Sudan’s war. https://apnews.com/article/sudan-war-military-rsf-uae-colombian-mercenaries-5c02e3b580f01b840251c206673123a7
- Sudan demands UN action against external backers of rebels. https://www.rt.com/africa/646413-sudan-un-action-rsf-foreign-backers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
- European nations to form atrocity prevention coalition for Sudan after UN report. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/european-nations-form-atrocity-prevention-coalition-sudan-after-un-report
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