UN investigators have revealed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hired Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a militia accused of committing genocide.
A confidential report submitted to the UN Security Council last week, a copy of which was obtained by *The New York Times*, details how an Emirati security firm with close ties to the government transported the Colombians to Sudan via territories in Libya and Somalia controlled by the UAE’s allies.
The report serves as the most comprehensive UN documentation to date regarding the UAE’s role in the Sudanese civil war. The UAE stands accused of supplying the paramilitary RSF with drones, weapons, and mercenaries—fueling a conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
These findings come at a sensitive time for the UAE, as Lana Zaki Nusseibeh—one of its most prominent diplomats, who for years spearheaded efforts to deny her country’s involvement in Sudan—is now a candidate for the position of UN Secretary-General.
