UN-backed probe says foreign fighters and outside support are fuelling Sudan's war
A UN fact-finding mission says up to 2,000 former Colombian soldiers and fighters from Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan have joined Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, as the war's death toll and displacement crisis continue to grow.
By Eyob Hadgu · 3 September 2026
A destroyed vehicle in El Fasher, Sudan, during the city's siege — part of a war a UN-backed probe says is being fuelled by foreign fighters and mercenaries. Photo: Channel 1 Egypt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
A UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said in a report released on 3 September 2026 that foreign recruitment and external support networks are helping sustain Sudan's civil war, funnelling personnel, weapons and military technology to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The mission said up to 2,000 former Colombian military personnel have directly operated combat drones, artillery and other advanced weapons alongside RSF units in Darfur and Kordofan. Witnesses also reported fighters from South Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia — including women — serving in frontline roles, identified by their language, accent and uniforms.
The report said private entities, intermediaries and recruiters based in Colombia and the United Arab Emirates used transit points in Chad, Libya and Somalia to move personnel, training, weapons and logistics to the RSF.
"The consequences of this external support are being felt most acutely by civilians," said Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission's chair.
Mission member Mona Rishmawi said the support "fed into RSF operations...grave human rights violations and international crimes, including conduct displaying hallmarks of genocide."
Toll on civilians
The war has killed tens of thousands of people since fighting began in April 2023, displaced more than 12 million inside Sudan, and forced at least 3 million more to flee to neighbouring countries, the mission said. It documented drone strikes that killed 114 people in Kalogi and more than 70 in Ad-Da'ein.
The mission urged states to halt illicit supply networks and enforce existing UN arms embargoes on Sudan.
This report draws on reporting from Al Jazeera.
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