UN Report Links UAE to Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan

United Nations investigators have determined that the United Arab Emirates hired Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group accused of genocide. A confidential report submitted to the Security Council details how the Abu Dhabi-based Global Security Services Group moved these mercenaries into Sudan using Emirati proxies in Libya and Somalia.

The report asserts that the UAE violated arms embargoes by providing weapons, drones, and mercenaries to the paramilitary group. These findings emerge as Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, campaigns to become the next UN Secretary-General. Critics and human rights organizations have accused Nusseibeh of whitewashing her government's role in fueling conflicts in Sudan and Yemen.

The UAE government and Nusseibeh have categorically denied supporting the RSF, maintaining that the country provides only humanitarian aid. The report's release follows previous efforts by the Government of Bahrain, a Security Council member, to block a similar report on UAE mercenaries from becoming public.