Foreign support, drones fuel Sudan war and possible war crimes, UN probe says

Foreign support is helping Sudan’s warring sides strike farther into civilian areas, and some of those attacks may amount to war crimes, a United Nations fact-finding mission said in a report published Thursday.

The war began in April 2023 after a power struggle between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, over a planned transition to civilian rule. It has devastated the country, displaced more than 14 million people and produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.

The mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe that a transnational network involving individuals and entities in the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and Somalia supplied the RSF with weapons, military equipment, logistics, training and foreign personnel. The UAE rejected allegations of military, logistical, financial or political support for the RSF. Chad said it remained neutral and denied knowledge of weapons transfers through its territory. The parties named in the report did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Investigators also found evidence that Colombian contractors played a major role in operating and maintaining drones and other advanced weapons used by the RSF. The mission estimated that the number of Colombian contractors could approach 2,000, with some present during operations around al-Fashir in Darfur. Colombia told investigators that it opposed mercenarism and was taking steps to address the participation of its nationals in foreign conflicts.

A previous UN report said mass killings of non-Arab communities after the RSF captured al-Fashir bore hallmarks pointing to genocide. The RSF has denied responsibility for abuses and accused its enemies of manufacturing accounts.

The investigation into outside support for Sudan’s military remains at an early stage, but the mission said it had found evidence of foreign-supplied combat drones and loitering munitions. Those weapons expanded the army’s long-range strike capabilities, and some were used against civilian locations, including Yabus Market in Blue Nile State. The report said drone warfare by both sides violated international human rights law.