*Outsourcing Terrorism:* *UAE-Sponsored Mercenaryism Against Sudan.. New Threat to Africa’s International Order*

By: Sudan Embassy- London

Since the UAE-sponsored terrorist RSF militia, the Janjaweed rebranded, launched a full-scale war against the Sudanese state and people on April 15, 2023, a mounting body of evidence has revealed what is now considered the largest mercenary-based operation in Africa’s recent history.
This war, fueled by the greed of Abu Dhabi’s ruling elite to seize Sudan’s vast natural resources and very important geopolitical assets, on one hand, and the Janjaweed’s design to further their decades-old ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur and beyond, on the other, has seen the deployment of hundreds of thousands of foreign fighters.
The recruitment of mercenaries is neither incidental nor short-term. Rather, it is a systemic and transnational enterprise designed to sustain a racial settler scheme on Sudanese soil. These foreign fighters come not only from neighboring and Sahelian countries but also from as far as Colombia and Eastern European countries.
Early Warnings and Growing Visibility:

Reports of large-scale foreign mercenary involvement in fighting alongside the RSF surfaced as early as May 2023. International observers and UN officials warned about the influx of “armed fortune seekers” from African Sahel countries. Volker Perthes, former UN Special Envoy to Sudan, was quoted by AFP on 14 May 2023 as stating that their numbers were “not insignificant.” Dr. Andreas Krieg of King’s College London told AFP that “Hemeti’s access to gold wealth allows him to pay salaries that most of sub-Saharan Africa cannot match.” Sudan expert Alex de Waal went further, describing the RSF as “a private transnational mercenary enterprise,” warning that if it succeeds, “the Sudanese state will become a subsidiary of this venture.”
As fighting intensified in late 2023 and through 2024, the presence of foreign mercenaries became more visible. It became evident that the UAE and the Dagalo family, who control the RSF, had become more dependent on mercenaries to compensate for heavy losses in manpower. The militia also relies on mercenaries to operate sophisticated weaponry supplied by the UAE, as these skills are often beyond the technical knowledge of its original Janjaweed recruits. Mercenaries are frequently employed as snipers, operators of encrypted communications gear, strategic drones, and long-range artillery specialists.
UAE Sponsors Africa’s Largest Mercenary Operation:

International investigative media have illustrated how the UAE-sponsored Janjaweed RSF is executing what is arguably Africa’s largest mercenary operation. Reports by several international media outlets highlight the vast network, primarily managed by UAE-based entities, that has been crucial in the recruitment, transport, and financing of these foreign fighters. The scale and coordination of this effort distinguish it from previous conflicts, marking a new phase in the use of privatised violence in Africa. The UAE’s role is described as providing a logistical and financial backbone, enabling the RSF to sustain its operations far beyond what its internal resources would allow.
The New York Times cites, on 24 September 2024, a confidential European Union memo indicating that by February 2024 there had been at least 200,000 foreign mercenaries fighting alongside the RSF militia. This number is more than three times the size of many African countries’ national armies, reflecting the militia’s heavy reliance on foreign manpower and technical expertise. It also manifests the nature of the genocidal RSF as a multinational terrorist syndicate, no less dangerous than ISIS and the like.
The ‘Desert Wolves’ Operation:

Investigations by France 24, El País, La Silla Vacía, and DefenceWeb identified a covert recruitment scheme, code-named “Desert Wolves,” launched in late 2023. At least 300 Colombian ex-soldiers with guerrilla war experience were recruited under the false pretense of Gulf-based security jobs. UAE-based private military companies (PMCs), especially Global Security Services Group (GSSG) and Black Shield Security, led the operation with logistical support from Colombian shell companies like A4SI and Phoenix.
Mercenaries were routed through a complex path: Bogotá → Madrid → Abu Dhabi → Benghazi → Sudan. They were often disguised as humanitarian personnel or medical cargo. Payments were routed through Mashreq Bank (UAE) and Banco Davivienda (Colombia). One mercenary received $6,750 from a UAE front company named Al Sahel Projects. By late 2024, Colombian and other foreign mercenaries were fully integrated into RSF units.
Official Colombian Condemnation:

In November 2024, the Sudanese military published footage of Colombian fighters killed in El Fasher, identifiable by their unique uniforms, encrypted gear, and American-supplied arms, as well as personal identity cards. The revelation triggered an official condemnation and apology from the Colombian Government, firstly through the country’s Ambassador in Cairo, non-resident Ambassador to Sudan, with the Sudanese Ambassador to Egypt, and later via a phone call from H.E. Luis Gilberto Murillo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, to his counterpart on 2 December 2024. The Colombian government further promised to open an inquiry into the mercenary recruitment industry.
However, the influx of Colombian mercenaries to Sudan, and Darfur in particular, has persisted throughout this year, with the terrorist militia expanding its use of strategic drones to attack civilian targets, including power plants, airports, camps of internally displaced persons, hospitals, markets, and even prisons.
These mercenaries were instrumental in the militia’s invasion of the Zamzam displacement camp near El Fasher last April, killing up to 2,000 IDPs and taking around 400 women captives. The camp had been under continuous shelling for nearly one year with heavy long-range artillery operated by foreign mercenaries before being invaded and violently dismantled. The massive camp, once home to around a million victims and survivors of the scorched-earth tactics the Janjaweed employed against native African communities in Darfur two decades ago, was handed over by the militia to the Colombian mercenaries, as revealed by video clips recovered from a dead fighter’s phone, which show Spanish-speaking mercenaries inside Zamzam camp. A spokesman for the camp’s IDPs reported that mercenaries had stolen civilians’ belongings and vehicles. Reports of Colombian fighters in Darfur are deemed credible by UN experts. The Joint Forces — a coalition of Darfurian armed struggle movements — confirmed the involvement of more than 80 Colombian mercenaries in the RSF’s latest attacks on El Fasher.
On Wednesday, 6 August 2025, the Sudanese Armed Forces announced that it had carried out an air strike that destroyed an Emirati aircraft carrying dozens of Colombian mercenaries as it landed in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state. The strike killed at least 40 mercenaries and destroyed shipments of weapons and equipment intended for the RSF militia. Several international media outlets reported that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a statement posted on X on 6 August 2025, said:
I have requested an urgent message for the bill banning mercenaryism. It is also a form of human trafficking, transformed into merchandise for killing.
They wanted so much war inside Colombia that, as the war weakened in the country, they sought it outside, where no one had harmed us.
The “bosses” who send young people to kill and be killed for nothing are murderers. They are spectres of death who abhor their oath to Bolívar.
I have ordered our ambassador in Egypt to find out how many Colombians died; there is unconfirmed talk of 40. We will see if we can secure the return of their bodies.
Training of Child Soldiers:

Earlier this month, La Silla Vacía newspaper published shocking confessions of one of the Colombian mercenaries, after returning from Sudan, about their involvement with the RSF militia. Identified as “Cesar,” the mercenary disclosed that his fellow Colombian mercenaries were tasked with securing delivery of drones destined for the militia via Bosaso Port in the semi-autonomous Somali Puntland region to Nyala Airport. He confessed to training the militia’s fighters, including underage recruits, some as young as 10. These recruits were trained in guerrilla warfare tactics using AK-47s, RPGs, and sniper rifles. According to him, a large number of these child soldiers were soon sent to combat fields, where many of them lost their lives.
His account is corroborated by video clips broadcast by the militia itself of its attacks on El Fasher, among them several minors. In fact, the RSF militia is infamous for this practice, which adds to a long list of heinous crimes, including genocide, mass executions of captives and hostages, burning of entire communities, and the use of rape and sexual violence as weapons of war. Mercenary trainers confirmed their roles in drone operations centers, including those utilizing Bayraktar drones, in Abu Dhabi under UAE military supervision.
Violating UN Mercenary Convention and Threatening Regional Security:

Under international law, recruiters and mercenary leaders may be subject to universal jurisdiction prosecutions, particularly for child soldier recruitment and war crimes.
The UAE’s deep involvement in financing, arming, and transporting these fighters poses serious legal questions. It may amount to state-level complicity under the UN Mercenary Convention and the Rome Statute of the ICC.
The UAE-sponsored RSF’s mercenary model represents more than a Sudanese problem. It is a threat to Africa — its security, statehood, territorial integrity, and international order. The outsourcing of violence and attempts to replace national institutions with warlord-run militias threaten to dismantle regional governance systems. It risks transforming internal conflicts, which abound throughout the continent, into permanent transnational crises dominated by profit-seeking PMCs and foreign patrons. By equating illegitimate militias with sovereign states in negotiations or aid delivery, international actors risk legitimizing criminal enterprises at the expense of peace, governance, and sovereignty.
Conclusion and Recommendations:

The UAE-sponsored RSF’s systemic use of foreign mercenaries is a grave violation of international norms and a clear threat to Sudanese sovereignty and African peace and stability. Therefore, urgent actions are required, including:
• Immediate international condemnation and targeted sanctions on PMCs, banks, and logistics firms involved in mercenary recruitment.
• Legal accountability for individual recruiters and commanders in both Colombia and the UAE.
• Designation of the RSF militia as an international terrorist group and the governments that support it as sponsors of international terrorism.
Further Readings:

AFP – “Sudan becomes battleground for foreign fighters,” 14 May 2023
El País – Los Mercenarios Colombianos, 2024.
La Silla Vacía – Lobos del Desierto, 2024.
Jeheina Network – “Desert Wolves: Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan,” 2025.
France 24 – RSF Militia Executes Africa’s Largest Mercenary Operation with UAE Support, 2025.
Sudan Tribune – RSF Mercenary Operations in Nyala and Darfur, August 2025.
The New York Times – Investigative report on RSF atrocities across Sudan, 2025.
The New York Times – “How a U.S. Ally Uses Aid as a Cover in War,” 2024.
Council on Foreign Relations – “Washington’s Mixed Messages on Fueling the War in Sudan,” 2024.
The Guardian – “We ignore Sudan at our peril…”, 2024.
AFP – “Sudan-UAE tensions rise amid war, mercenary accusations,” 2025.

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