Rights group accuses UAE of being transit point for mercenaries on way to Sudan

Rights group accuses UAE of being transit point for mercenaries on way to Sudan8 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleThomas MukhwanaAfrica correspondentAFP via Getty ImagesThe paramilitary RSF group has been fighting Sudan's regular army since 2023Colombian mercenaries were recruited by a United Arab Emirates-based company and transited through Emirati military bases to support paramilitary troops who committed atrocities in Sudan, a leading rights organisation alleges.According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the findings are further evidence of UAE-backing for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of war crimes during the Sudanese civil war.The UAE denies claims it recruited and trained foreign fighters in its territory."The UAE does not permit its territory to be used for the recruitment, training, financing or transit of foreign fighters to any conflict, including Sudan," its ministry of foreign affairs said.The HRW investigation was conducted through interviews with Colombian mercenaries between March and September 2025 as well as an analysis of social media posts identifying key locations and weapons in videos and images.War broke out in Sudan on 15 April 2023, following growing tension between the paramilitary RSF forces and the Sudanese army.Since then more 150,000 people are believed to have died from the violence and more than 12.9 million have been displaced.Getty ImagesMillions of refugees have fled abroad including to neighbouring ChadThe HRW report follows last month's research by security analysis organisation, the Conflict Insights Group (CIG), which also highlighted the alleged involvement of Colombian mercenaries in Darfur, Sudan's western region now largely held by the RSF.Colombian President Gustavo Petro was quoted last year as calling the mercenaries "spectres of death" and describing their recruitment as a "form of human trafficking".HRW says airports in the UAE, Libya, Chad...