Human Rights Watch Says UAE-Linked Firm Trained Colombian Mercenaries Who Fought with Sudan’s RSF
The report could prompt international sanctions or investigations by linking an Abu Dhabi security company to recruitment, UAE-based training, and deployment of fighters to sites of mass atrocities in Sudan.
Overview
- Human Rights Watch released a detailed report in late May 2026 that says the Abu Dhabi security company Global Security Services Group (GSSG) recruited hundreds of Colombian private military contractors and moved them through UAE facilities before they were sent to Sudan.
- HRW verified and geolocated videos and photos showing some of those Colombian fighters in El Fasher during the October 2025 capture of the city, an assault the UN said bore the hallmarks of genocide.
- The report documents training at UAE military sites, witness testimony that contractors operated drones and trained RSF recruits, and allegations from one contractor that some trainees were children.
- Human Rights Watch and other rights groups call for targeted sanctions, investigations of GSSG and associated individuals, and suspension of arms and military cooperation with the UAE over its alleged role.
- The findings build on earlier reporting that flagged UK-linked recruiters and Western-made equipment at RSF sites and raise wider legal and diplomatic questions about state and corporate complicity in enabling the RSF’s abuses.