UN Sudan mission reports deployment of up to 2,000 former Colombian soldiers

Up to 2,000 former Colombian soldiers have reportedly been recruited and deployed in Sudan as private military personnel fighting alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, against the Sudanese army.

The finding comes from the UN’s International Independent Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, which published a report describing transnational networks that provide combatants, weapons, ammunition, military technology and logistical support to the forces involved in the conflict.

According to the information gathered by the mission, Colombian military contractors directly operated combat drones, artillery and advanced weapons alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan. The mission also said it found evidence suggesting that Sudan’s army used drones supplied from abroad in operations that caused damage to civilians and civilian property.

Investigators identified a network involving private companies, logistics intermediaries and recruiters operating in countries including Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. Transit points in Chad, southeastern Libya and Bosaso in Somalia allegedly helped move personnel, training, weapons and supplies to the RSF.

The mission said the documented attacks represent serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and that some could constitute war crimes. It also reminded states linked to these supply chains that they have a legal duty to exercise due diligence, investigate and stop illicit mercenary and supply networks operating from or through their territories.

“Accountability cannot stop with those who carry out the attacks,” mission expert Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said, calling for investigations across the chain of responsibility, including those who order, finance, supply or facilitate international crimes.

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Accountability cannot stop with those who carry out the attacks.