Human Rights Watch Accuses UAE of Training Mercenaries for Sudan Conflict

El Cairo (AP) — Human Rights Watch has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of training Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s brutal conflict. The RSF is notorious for committing crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The UAE has denied these accusations.

The report from Human Rights Watch is the latest to allege the UAE’s financial and military support of the RSF, which has been responsible for numerous atrocities in Sudan. Mausi Segun, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division, emphasized that recruiting Colombian military contractors adds to extensive evidence of the UAE’s military support for the RSF.

Sudan’s conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, as power struggles between the army and RSF led to fighting in Khartoum and throughout Sudan. The RSF originated from the feared Janjaweed Arab militias, known for committing atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Human Rights Watch’s report indicates that Emirati citizens trained hundreds of Colombian mercenaries at Al Dhafra, a military base west of Abu Dhabi, and another facility in the city. A Colombian mercenary, who went unnamed, reported training RSF recruits, including young children, in camps around Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. Additional interviews with Colombian military sources corroborated these claims.

In a UN Security Council report in September, an expert panel highlighted Colombian mercenaries fighting across Sudan, in areas including Khartoum, Omdurman, Darfur, and Kordofan. These mercenaries operated drones, artillery, and armored vehicles for the RSF and engaged in direct attacks. RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, admitted in February that Colombian mercenaries assisted with drone operations.

Human Rights Watch urged countries to pressure the UAE to cease support for the RSF. Global Security Services Group, an Abu Dhabi-based private security company, recruited these mercenaries. The firm is reportedly chaired by Emirati citizen Mohamed Hamdan Al Zaabi.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry denied the allegations in an email to the AP, stating the country doesn’t allow its territory for recruiting, training, or funding foreign fighters. Any support provided by individuals or private entities would be unauthorized, thus subject to investigation and prosecution.

Human Rights Watch verified video evidence of Colombian mercenaries fighting alongside the RSF, capturing El Fasher in Darfur last October. UN experts described this offensive as possessing “genocidal characteristics.” The UN reported at least 6,000 deaths over three days.

The rights group called on the international community, including the European Union, to suspend military cooperation and arms sales to the UAE if support for the RSF continues.

Segun expressed that countries should stop accepting the UAE’s categorical denials of RSF support and seek accountability for their alleged war crimes. The United States has sanctioned several entities in Bogotá for recruiting Colombian mercenaries for the RSF but hasn’t addressed reports of UAE’s alleged RSF support. The group has repeatedly committed “summary executions, ethnically motivated attacks, sexual and gender-based violence, and torture in their controlled areas” during the conflict.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, at least 59,000 fatalities have occurred over the past three years. Still, the U.S.-based group warns this figure may be understated due to challenges in reporting accurate data.