Media Outlets Deny Reports of Colombian Mercenaries Fighting in El-Fasher
Sudan Events – Agencies
Reuters’ Fact Check service has debunked claims made in a circulating video that allegedly showed Colombian soldiers fighting in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher with support from the United Arab Emirates.
According to the service, the footage in question actually depicts a joint military exercise involving U.S. and European forces in Estonia, contradicting online posts that said it showed Colombian mercenaries engaged in combat in El-Fasher.
The claims spread after the Sudanese army announced in early August 2025 that it had killed Colombian fighters in El-Fasher, a city under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, accusing the UAE of involvement in the conflict.
In reality, the widely shared video shows live-fire drills conducted in July 2025, involving forces from four countries in Estonia. The original video was released on July 29 by the U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) as part of a longer recording. DVIDS said the footage was taken on July 24 near Tapa Army Base in Estonia and featured U.S., British, Canadian, and Estonian troops.
The U.S. Army’s V Corps, based in Poland, also confirmed in an August 18 statement that the July 21–25 drills included mortar and live-fire exercises designed to test combat readiness.
Fact Check noted that the military insignia visible on a soldier inside an armored vehicle, as well as on another firing mortars, belonged to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, which took part in the Estonia exercise.
Meanwhile, Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris appealed directly to Colombia in a statement delivered in Spanish on August 16, urging Bogotá to immediately halt the recruitment and deployment of mercenaries to Sudan and to support Khartoum’s government.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded the following day in a post on X, warning his citizens: “Do not die in foreign conflicts.”
In a rare official statement, the Colombian government expressed deep concern and dismay over reports of Colombian mercenaries’ involvement in Sudan’s war. During a meeting with Sudan’s representative to the United Nations, Colombia’s permanent envoy Gustavo Gallón said Bogotá felt “deeply embarrassed” by the allegations.
He stressed that Colombia firmly rejects any participation of its citizens in armed conflicts abroad, particularly in internal wars such as Sudan’s. Gallón added that most of the Colombians involved were “renegade elements” or former members of armed groups that had battled the Colombian state for decades — pointing to the broader phenomenon of professional fighters recruited for foreign wars.
For its part, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters that it supports the Sudanese people in their pursuit of peace and stability, rejecting what it described as false allegations promoted as part of a systematic campaign by authorities in Port Sudan.
The ministry emphasized that such “baseless claims” are part of a deliberate attempt to deflect responsibility and shift blame onto others.
