Sudan presents evidence linking Libya to UAE’s mercenaries plot

Sudan has presented documents to the UN Security Council as evidence that the United Arab Emirates has used Libya to send Colombian mercenaries to Sudan to fight for the Rapid Support Forces, according to the Libyan Express on September 7th.

The Sudanese military has been in a violent civil war with the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces since April of 2023.

On August 4th the Sudanese foreign ministry released a statement claiming that they had “irrefutable evidence” of their claim that the UAE had sent mercenaries into Sudan to fight for the RSF, and what has now been presented to the UN Security Council is presumably that evidence.

The evidence that Sudan has presented shows that Colombian fighters were flown from the UAE to Somalia, and then transferred to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi under the oversight of officers loyal to Khalifa Haftar. 

Haftar is the leader of the Libyan National Army, which is aligned with Libya’s eastern government and backed by Russia and Egypt. The government in Sudan announced in May that they were cutting diplomatic ties with the UAE, accusing it of backing the RSF.

The government has estimated that somewhere between 350 and 380 Colombian nationals were hired through private security companies operating in the UAE.

Authorities have also said that mercenaries were contracted under the pretense of providing security services but were deployed to Sudan where they fought under a unity called the “Desert Wolves”.

These groups allegedly took part in combat operations that caused civilian casualties, widespread destruction, the use of banned weapons, child recruitment, and the smuggling of natural resources.

The UAE’s motives for involvement in the Sudanese civil war can largely be attributed to their interest in accessing the natural resources and minerals found in Sudan, and their backing of the RSF is ideological. The RSF is willing to contain the Muslim Brotherhood, a political movement that has been outlawed by the UAE.

Libyan Express/Maghrebi/France24