Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of recruiting and deploying Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese army in the country’s ongoing civil war.
In a statement released on Monday, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed to have “irrefutable evidence” that mercenaries from Colombia and several unnamed African nations were being financed and sponsored by the UAE.
However, the statement did not provide concrete proof or name the alleged African countries involved.
“This unprecedented phenomenon poses a serious threat to peace and security in the region and across the continent,” the ministry warned, alleging that hundreds of thousands of fighters had been hired from across Africa.
Responding to the accusation, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a firm denial.
In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the UAE said it “categorically rejects” the claims, labeling them as baseless efforts to derail peace efforts.
“The UAE emphasizes that these claims are merely attempts to derail the peace process and evade the moral, legal, and humanitarian obligations to end the conflict and pave the way for a transitional process that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people for security, stability, and development,” the UAE stated.
There has been no official comment yet from Colombia regarding the allegations.
Sudan’s military and the RSF have been locked in a brutal conflict since April 2023, when tensions between the two forces erupted into full-scale war in Khartoum and spread across the country.
The fighting has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths, displaced around 12 million people, and pushed millions to the edge of famine.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly accused the UAE of supplying arms to the RSF, a claim the Gulf nation has consistently denied.
In November, Amnesty International reported that the Sudanese army had seized UAE-manufactured armored vehicles equipped with French defense systems.
At the time, the UAE dismissed the findings, calling them part of a “coordinated disinformation campaign” aimed at undermining its regional role and humanitarian efforts.
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have been accused by rights groups of committing war crimes, including ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, and extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children.
