Tripoli – Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Allegations that forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar are providing military and logistical support to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to mount, amid growing evidence that points to an international web of involvement. Despite forceful denials from the accused parties, mounting field reports and testimonies now appear to substantiate these claims.
A recent investigation by the British newspaper The Telegraph has uncovered the presence of hundreds of Colombian mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the RSF. Many of these men, the report reveals, were lured with fraudulent job offers in the United Arab Emirates—a promised future as security guards in oil facilities or hotels with monthly salaries of $2,600. Instead, upon their arrival in Abu Dhabi, they found their passports and phones confiscated, and were told they were heading for a training mission in Libya.
One Colombian, “Juan”, recounted that their plane landed in Benghazi, after which they were transported by land through the Libyan desert and across the border into Darfur. “I didn’t know I was going to Sudan,” Juan said, reflecting confusion echoed by most recruits. “We were told we would be protecting facilities, but we found ourselves fighting at the front.” The investigation noted that some mercenaries remain in Sudan, while the bodies of others have been left unclaimed, stored in morgues, or buried without the knowledge of their families—who were warned against contacting the media by those responsible for recruitment.
Private Emirati security firms have also come under scrutiny for facilitating the recruitment process, though the UAE has issued official denials. Sudanese officials, meanwhile, have confirmed the deaths of several Colombian mercenaries and have obtained identification documents to prove it. According to the report, video evidence has surfaced showing children being recruited and trained by Spanish-speaking mercenaries—a flagrant violation of international law.
Earlier this month, the Sudanese government presented new evidence to the UN Security Council, as reported by Sudanese state media, implicating the UAE in the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries for the RSF militia. Official documents show that these recruits were first sent from the UAE to Somalia, then to Benghazi under Haftar’s supervision, and finally moved across Chad into Sudan.
The evidence compiled by Sudanese authorities suggests that between 350 and 380 Colombian mercenaries—primarily ex-army officers and soldiers—were recruited through UAE-based private security firms. Among the companies named are the Global Security Services Group (GSSG), headed by an Emirati national in Abu Dhabi, and the Agency for International Services (A4SI), co-founded by retired Colombian Colonel Álvaro Quejano and based in Al Ain, UAE.
These mercenaries were ostensibly contracted for “security and protection services,” but were deployed to Sudan to fight directly alongside the RSF, operating as part of a unit known as the “Desert Wolves.” Deployed across multiple Sudanese frontlines, their involvement has contributed to civilian casualties, widespread destruction, the use of prohibited weaponry, the recruitment of child soldiers, and the trafficking of natural resources. The Sudanese government has characterized these actions as a foreign war of aggression orchestrated by the UAE, demanding accountability and calling for the RSF to be labeled a terrorist organization.
Independent investigative bodies have also documented new supply routes and military infrastructure linked to this transnational cooperation. In August, the London-based Center for Information Resilience identified an RSF military encampment inside Libyan territory, near the desert town of Al-Jawf south of Kufra. Through the analysis of open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, and hundreds of social media videos, investigators concluded that Libya remains a vital channel for funneling military equipment, fuel, and vehicles to the RSF—some of which have later been deployed in major offensive operations, notably the fierce assault on North Darfur’s sprawling Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons.
Lead investigator Mark Snook said that pinpointing the camp’s location required advanced tools, including NASA’s “Black Marble” nighttime satellite imagery system, which picked up previously undetected light signatures. Satellite imagery later showed more than 100 vehicles stationed at the encampment—a figure complicated by overlapping imagery and the variety of machinery on site. Additional evidence, including insignia and video footage of a senior RSF commander, further cemented the camp’s affiliation.
Haftar’s forces have themselves been implicated in more direct hostilities. In June, for the first time, the Sudanese army accused Haftar’s eastern Libyan forces of attacking Sudanese border positions—raising the stakes in the two-year-old conflict with the RSF.
At the onset of the war, Khartoum frequently accused Haftar of supplying weapons to the RSF and charged the UAE—one of Haftar’s main backers—with supporting anti-army factions. Sudan’s military alleged that the UAE had even provided direct air support last month via drone strikes. Both the UAE and Egypt (another Haftar ally) strongly denied these accusations, with the UAE emphasizing its support for the Sudanese army and Egypt’s government.
Speaking in January this year, Sudanese Finance and Economic Planning Minister Jibril Ibrahim accused several countries—including Libya—of backing the RSF’s campaigns, and called for respect for neighborly relations. That same month, UN investigators reported that the RSF had acquired vehicles and weapons from across the Libyan border, again highlighting foreign intervention as a key factor in Sudan’s spiraling conflict.
